Breaking Ranks: Genesis & Emergence
by myperfectnightmare00
Summary: She knew that it was wrong. He was her Commanding Officer and yet she felt drawn to him and him to her. They knew the risks but will they take the chance? An extra team member for SGA-1 will throw Atlantis upside down and throw John Sheppard's world into the unknown. Just who is this mysterious Lieutenant? John/OC. Books 1 & 2
1. Genesis - Chapter 1

**Breaking Ranks - Genesis.**

* * *

" _Attention all personnel. Commencement of the Atlantis expedition will proceed at zero-nine-hundred hours._ "

I was roused from my sleep on the top of my bunk bed in Cheyenne Mountain. I heard the other three women who I had been sharing the room with all awaken and start moving around the room, collecting their belongings and clothes and head for the showers to get ready for the expedition. I too climbed down the metal ladder and made the bed as best as I could. Grabbing my duffle bag I headed out of the room and to the showers, it was already busy so I had to wait a few minutes before one became available to me. All the talk was only about the Atlantis expedition; most of the women here were scientists, there were only a handful of military women who had been chosen.

I for one had been chosen because I carry this special sort of gene that the Ancients had. A race of people far advanced than our own, they even built the Stargates for us to use, and today, we were hoping to travel to Atlantis, their home. Once I was showered I changed into my uniform and pulled my hair into a tight bun at the back of my head, I still had two hours before we were scheduled for leaving so I decided to drop my duffle bag off at the personal wears loading and head for the commissary.

I entered and noticed that it was packed, mostly of scientists, everyone was eating and chatting animatedly about the expedition, well, I didn't blame them, it was exciting. I collected a tray and glanced around the room, trying to see if I could spot any familiar faces. I felt the corners of my mouth turn up into a smile as I spotted the familiar scientist sitting alone in the corner table. I wondered over to him as I stood before one of the empty chairs. "May I join you, Doctor?" I asked him as the brown haired doctor looked up at me through his round glasses. He smiled and quickly moved various papers.

"Lieutenant! Yes of course." I set the tray down and took the seat opposite him.

"What are you reading?" I asked him as I began eating. Daniel Jackson scattered some of his papers.

"I'm putting together a sort of guide for reading the Ancient text. Seeing as General O'Neil wont let me travel with the expedition, I've resorted to being as much help as I can without actually being there." I noticed he was pouting but I didn't say anything on it. "Would you like to learn?" he asked me as I shook my head.

"Thanks, Doctor Jackson, but I'm a military gal. I don't really find reading a different language all that exciting."

"But you have the ancient gene, it would be beneficial to learn."

" _All military personnel please report to the armory for gear up._ " A voice sounded over the comms system.

I smiled at Daniel. "Sorry, Doc. Maybe another time." I took the tray to the bin as I dumped it and left the commissary. The armory was two levels down so I headed to the elevator. Once there I had to wait in line, as it seems all the military personnel were heading down now. I was pressed up against the wall of the elevator when we went down to level 28, once there everyone vacated and I was finally able to breath again.

I followed everyone else to the armory and waited for my turn. Everyone who emerged was geared up in tack vests and P-90's. A knife on the belt and a leg holster for a pistol. I moved in when it was my turn, there were helpers offering everyone the vests as I had one handed to me. I zipped the vest up over my black tactical jacket and then was handed the P-90 and clipped that onto the vest. Next was the leg holster as I strapped it on and placed the pistol into it. Lastly I was handed the knife as I clipped it on to the back of my belt and then finally I was ready. I nodded to the guy who handed me my gear as I spun on my heel and left the armory.

"Mia!" I heard someone shout. I stopped and looked around, trying to find whoever had yelled my name when I finally saw a familiar face.

"Ford!" Ford was already geared up as well as he ran over to me, he was grinning from ear to ear, and we clasped forearms as I smiled at him. "Who knew we'd run into each other here?" I laughed as we both let go and went down the corridor. We had been told from the men in the armory to head down to the Gate room so we could do the double and triple checks on all the equipment.

"Small world, huh?" he grinned at me. "So, how'd you get roped into all of this?" he asked me as we rounded a corner. The gate room was just a few meters away from us and it was packed so we waited outside. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Apparently I've got this gene, but I like to think of it like they wouldn't be able to cope without my amazing special skills of persuasion and reason."

"And they would be?" Ford scoffed as I smirked and held up the P-90.

"Persuasion," I let it drop and flicked out the knife. "Reason." Ford and I laughed as we heard someone clear their throat, we both turned and the smile dropped from my face and I felt my stomach drop.

"Lieutenant Ford. I'm sure there are a number of things that you should be doing right now. One of them would not be wasting time." Stood before us was Colonel Sumner, he was the military commander of the Atlantis expedition. He was a Colonel in the Marines, and was Ford's superior.

"Yes, sir." Ford saluted him as he walked off and started talking to some scientists who looked like they needed help with their equipment. I turned back to Colonel Sumner, he nodded his head ever so slightly.

"Lieutenant." He barked out as I dipped my head down.

"Colonel." He spun on his heel and marched off into the gate room as I was left standing there holding my breath. Once he was gone I let out the breath I had been holding as I sensed someone come and stand next to me. I glanced over and up at the man, he was taller than me with dark messy hair and a pair of brilliant hazel green eyes, he was geared up for the expedition as his arms were crossed over on his P-90.

"That conversation looked cheerful." He smirked at me.

I shook my head softly, "You have no idea." I grumbled to him. We both moved to enter the gate room as I finally got the chance to see the Stargate everyone had been talking about. It looked like it was made from metal; it was large, round and had hieroglyphs all around it, which I assumed were the gate chevrons, what Doctor Jackson had described to me.

"So that's the…Stargate…" the man next to me said in awe.

I nodded, "Yep." He turned to me then.

"Major John Sheppard." He smirked.

"Lieutenant Mia Sumner," I replied. I expected his reaction, his head spun from me to my dad up on the ramp leading up to the Stargate.

"Sumner?" Sheppard said wearily.

"Yeah, that's kind of the reaction I get from everyone who finds out. Colonel Marshall Sumner is my dad."

"No kidding."

Just then, Doctor Weir, who was leading the Atlantis expedition walked into the gate room, calling for everyone's attention. She went and took her place on the ramp so she could see everyone present. "We're about to try and make a connection. We have been unable to predict exactly how much power this is going to take, and we may only get the one chance at this. So if we're able to achieve a stable wormhole, we're not going to risk shutting the gate down. We'll send in the MALP probe, check for visibility, and go. Everything in one shot." She paused for everyone to catch up with what she was saying. I glanced around and noticed some weary faces of the scientists. All the military, however, had stony expressions.

"Now, everyone of you volunteered for this mission, and you represent over a dozen countries. You are the worlds best and brightest. And in the light of the adventure we are about to embark on; you're also the bravest. I hope we all return one day having discovered a whole new realm for humanity to explore. But as all of you know, we may never be able to return home. I'd like to offer you all one last chance to withdraw your participation."

She paused again, looking around the room, waiting for anyone to leave. But it seemed even all the scientists were staying. Weir smiled down at all of us, "Begin the dialing sequence." She walks off the ramp as I spot my father walking over to Sheppard who was still standing next to me. He said something in a low voice that I was unable to hear over the gate's dialing, though when my father started moving away I heard the final remark from Sheppard, "That would be Doctor Weir, right?" Dad glared at Sheppard as he turned to me, dad walked off as Sheppard shrugged his shoulders. "And you have to live with that?" he asked with a chuckle as I snorted.

"Actually, we haven't spoken in eight years."

"What?" he said in surprise. Just then the Stargate activated and for the first time I was able to see it.

It looked like a giant wave expanded out of the Stargate and then retracted back in, the surface settled and it was calm, but it was rippling. The room erupted into applause and it finally registered in my brain that there was no getting out of this now. The gate had locked with Atlantis, in another galaxy. Sure I had been told I'd be going on this expedition three weeks ago and it had time to settle in but it was still a shock for me to realize that I was about to go to a different galaxy. "If it's any consolation, I can kind of guess how you're feeling." Sheppard said to me as I raised my brows, I guess he was in the same boat I was in.

"Let's go people. We don't know how much power we've got. Security teams One and Two, you're up first. All other personnel will follow on our signal. Once on the other side, keep moving, clear the debarkation area. On my lead…" Dad shouted as he headed up the ramp and towards the Stargate.

"Hold on, Colonel!" Doctor Weir exclaimed as I watched her grab her backpack and rush up to meet him, "We go through together." She said finally as I saw dad mutter something under his breath. Even after eight years his attitude hadn't wavered to people changing his own orders…I should know. Weir and dad stepped through the gate as the security teams followed suit.

"Mia!" I heard Ford's familiar voice as I turned and he ran up to Sheppard and me on the ramp. I grinned at him as the three of us walked up to the wormhole, Sheppard was looking at the glowing blue ring nervously as Ford and I exchanged knowing glances.

"What's it feel like?" he asked either of us.

"Hurt's like hell Sir." He said seriously as I crossed my arms.

"Worst pain imaginable." I added as I watched Sheppard grimace. Ford's gaze flicked to mine, he broke out into a smile as he let out a whoop and jumped backwards into the gate. Sheppard's head turned slightly so that he could give me an annoyed look. I nudged him slightly, "Lighten up, Major." I smirked as I walked through the gate.

* * *

I stepped out and immediately felt like I wanted to puke, I had been told that first time gate travel would feel like this. I raised my gun and turned the flashlight on, Ford was a few feet ahead of me, he was also doing the same as me. I gazed around the room and it was huge! There were two levels; at the back of the room was a staircase that led up to another area, a balcony connected another room to the upper level. After I stepped further a few more steps I heard the squelching sound and glanced over my shoulder to see Sheppard appear, he looked back in shock at the gate as he readied his weapon. Ford and I stood shoulder to shoulder as we walked further into the giant room. Keeping our eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary.

"Who's doing that?" I heard Weir say as Ford and I turned around, we saw Sheppard and someone who looked like a scientist step on the stairs and they started lighting up. They continued up the stairs and over to the upper level on the right side. From here I could see machines up there that were lighting up as well. I did a full sweep of the large room with my eyes, it seemed that everyone had come through the gate; all the equipment was being pushed to all sides of the room.

"General O'Neill? Atlantis base offers greetings from the Pegasus Galaxy. You may cut the power to the gate." Weir said into her radio. A few seconds later, a large bottle of champagne rolls through the gate and then it shuts off, casting the room into darkness. Weir picked up the bottle as she read something on the tag and then smiled up at the gate. I watched as all the military personnel began to explore the rooms that were available to us as I nudged Ford who was still standing next to me. He looked down at me as I inclined my head to move backwards. He shook his head, his eyes wide as he realized that I wanted to go exploring. I grabbed the sleeve of his jacket as I pulled him through a door and out of the gate room.

"Mia! What are you doing?" Ford hissed at me once I let him go as we wondered down a corridor. I grinned over at the Lieutenant.

"Relax, it's called an 'expedition' isn't it?"

"Yes but we don't have orders to be down here." He looked like he wanted to turn around and go back to the gate room, I waved my hand in the air as I spun around on my heel and spoke.

"Fine, go be a good soldier. But don't come crying to me when I find some spectacular alien technology!" I yelled over my shoulder as I watched Ford's face, he looked torn. I smirked as I rounded a corner and stopped dead in my tracks. Before was a large window, and outside, we were under water!

"Ford!" I shouted as I heard Ford's running footsteps as he ran around the corner and stopped next to me. I could feel the awe and wonder radiating off of him.

"Mia, is that…"

"It's the ocean!" I said with a grin to Ford. We both looked down through the window and saw spires and buildings, Atlantis was huge! We were just in a tower, before us were three different sections.

"It's massive." Ford whispered as I agreed. Ford then reached up to his ear, "Colonel Sumner, this is Lieutenant Ford. I've found something that you should see, I'm three levels down from the gate room." Unfortunately I didn't have a radio so I didn't hear the reply. Ford and I waited a few minutes before we heard footsteps and my father stepped around the corner. He seemed shocked to see me with Ford but he quickly put his guard back up as Ford directed him to the window. "Sir, it seems the city is on the bottom of the ocean." My father stepped up to the window and peered out of the glass, he then touched his earpiece.

"Doctor Weir, Colonel Sumner here. Could you come down and meet me please? We're three levels down from you." Weir obviously responded as dad turned to me and Ford. "I want you two back up in the gate room, now." He ordered, a frown marred his stern features. Ford saluted him immediately and turned on his heel.

I stayed, my anger bubbling. "Why do we have to go?" I crossed my arms and glared at him.

"Because you were not authorized to be down here in the first place." He growled at me as I pointed out the glass window.

"If Ford and I hadn't come down here, you wouldn't have found out we were under water!"

"We would have eventually, now go before I have you removed." He placed his hands behind his back in his military stance and I knew that the conversation was over. But I wasn't finished yet.

"This is bullshit! You can't accept the fact that I discovered this! You still can't accept the fact that I joined the Army and not the Marines!"

"Mia." His tone was harsh and low and it made me cringe. It had been over eight years hearing my dad call me by my name. "If you do not remove yourself, I will have you detained, is that understood Lieutenant?" And there goes the block again.

I saluted him, "Understood, _Colonel._ " I hissed as I turned on my heel and stomped passed Doctor Weir and Major Sheppard as they came through the hallway. They plastered themselves up against the doorframe as I came barreling passed, not caring at this moment in time about first impressions with the leader of the expedition. My fists were balled at my sides and I really wanted to hit something. I noticed that Ford had caught up to me and was trying to talk to me but I had tuned him out, when we were finally back at the gate room I stopped and turned to him. "What?" I barked out at him, Ford rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Some family reunion, huh?" he smirked at me as I laughed.

 **X**

For the next twenty minutes Ford and I helped the scientists put some of their equipment away, by now they had managed to get the rooms lights up and running so we didn't have to use the giant industrial ones anymore. We would have kept going, that was until Doctor Weir, Doctor McKay, Major Sheppard, Doctor Beckett, Peter Grodin and my dad all hurried back into the room and up the stairs to the right side area. Ford and I shared a look and because of my nosey trait I wanted to be up there too. Ford and I ran up the stairs as I came and stood next to Doctor Weir, Ford next to me.

"The force field holding back the ocean has collapsed to its minimum sustainable levels." He moved over to a large hanging screen that seemed to show a map of Atlantis, and like I had said before, the place was massive. Around the outer edges it was flashing red and then it turned to orange and then green at the very center of the city. "Look, you can see here and here where the shield's already failed and the city's flooded. It could've happened years ago but…this section is likely more protected because of the Stargate." He pointed to the tower we were in on the screen,

"What if it fails completely?" Sheppard asked from the other side of Weir.

"It's a matter of 'when', not 'if'."

Weir seemed shocked by this revelation as she turned to my dad, "Colonel Sumner, you need to order your security teams to stop searching the city immediately." She said to him as dad touched his earpiece and spoke into it, telling his two teams to return to the control room.

I walked over to a small balcony and looked over the control room, I stared at the Stargate with a frown; it was then that I thought of something while McKay had been bickering with Sheppard and Beckett about how we could survive. I turned around and cleared my throat loudly, "Hey, I'm no scientist, but isn't the Stargate used for travelling to different worlds?"

"We don't have enough power to return to Earth." McKay said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I shook my head, "I didn't mean Earth. We're in another galaxy, can't we travel to another world in this galaxy?"

McKay considered this as he nodded, "Well, that's relatively easy. Fortunately, some ancient technology still uses good old-fashioned push buttons, so we've been able to access the Stargate control system and a library of known gate addresses." Peter Grodin then announced that he had found something and pressed a button, we all watched as a shield was put up in front of the Stargate. I grinned as I heard McKay's grumbling, "using power, using power…"

The shield was shut off as Weir turned to my dad, "Colonel, assemble a team. We need safe harbor, or better still, another power source." Dad turned to Ford.

"Lieutenant, gather security teams one and two. Everyone gear up." Ford saluted him as he bolted down the stairs, speaking into his radio. I heard Weir tell Major Sheppard that she wanted him to go along.

And then somehow I was left out, again. I had spent nearly half of my life being walked over by my dad, being a pushover to my superiors but right now, all I wanted was to be a part of this mission. Why else was I here? I hurried after my dad who was standing near the gate, Major Sheppard had just finished walking down the stairs as I brushed passed him and marched up to my dad. "Colonel, I'm requesting I be apart of this mission."

"Request denied, Lieutenant." He said shortly as he turned away from me, I frowned at his back.

"Is the request denied because I'm your daughter?" I let that sink in for a second as he turned his body fully around to glare at me, "Or because I'm part of the Army and not the Marines?" I raised a brow as dad walked up to me, his glare would scare even the toughest of men away, but not me. I had seen it over a dozen times when I was a child.

"Do not think for a second this it is because of any of those reasons." He said lowly to me. I stepped back, confused.

"Colonel, if I may interject." I heard Major Sheppard say as he stepped up next to me. "Lieutenant Sumner has the Ancient gene, I think it would be wise, if we were to somehow cross some Ancient technology that she be apart of the mission. Who knows, it may need one or more people to activate." I was glad that Major Sheppard was here to say that, I wouldn't have thought of it. "And I know for a fact that the good Lieutenant and I are the only ones in your squads that have the gene." He added as an after thought. I could see the wheels turning in my dads head, he knew that what Major Sheppard was saying was true.

"Fine, we leave once the MALP clears it." He said as he marched off towards his squads. Once he was out of earshot I turned to Major Sheppard and smiled.

"Thanks for that."

"Don't mention it." He smirked at me as he checked his ammunition on his gun, even though we hadn't taken a single shot it was still a habit, even I shared the same one. The gate dialed and the control room was cast into a blue-ish glow, the MALP was sent through as a technician handed us some infrared goggles, I strapped mine to my forehead as dad suddenly called out, "Let's move out!"

Sheppard and I stood side by side as we walked through the gate together, when we came out on the other side I slipped my goggles over my eyes and suddenly I was seeing everything in green. We fanned out and were all walked forwards, Sheppard was on my left and Ford on my right. Dad was ahead of the line as we all slipped quietly through the field.

I heard a twig snap off to my right as I saw Sheppard motion for Ford and I to stop walking. We heard a few more twigs snapping and then suddenly a figure ran out from the bushes. Ford pointed his gun at the figure as Sheppard and I did the same. The figure, which I could now see was a young boy, stopped in fear at the sight of us. Another figure came running out of the bushes, not noticing us and charged right into the first boy and tackles him to the ground. "Please don't hurt us!" the first boy said, the other one noticed us as he backed away in fear.

"Please! They're just playing!" another figure darts out from the forest, this time it was an adult.

"Is everything ok here?" I hear dad say from behind us.

"Yes, sir. Just a couple of kids." Sheppard replies from my side. I lift my goggles up finally and could see the three alien people ahead of me. From their clothes they didn't look like a very advanced race, and they looked like they feared us. I didn't want to give them a reason to fear us.

"Halling." The adult man said, he touched his chest as he spoke so it must have been his name.

"I don't know what that means." Sheppard glanced at me as I smirked at him.

"It's his name," I heard dad say in an annoyed tone he used with me a lot when I was a child.

"Oh. Halling, it's nice to meet you."

"Are you here to trade?" Halling asked us as Sheppard glanced to dad and then back to Halling.

"Trade. Yes. We're traders."

I watch as Halling turns to the first boy and mutters something to him, they touch foreheads as we are all left standing there awkwardly. He releases the boy and I assumed that the kid was his son, he turns back to us. "Teyla will wish to meet with you. Come." He beckoned us and I was the first one to move. Halling darted through the trees as I joined him.

"Halling was it?" I said as I pulled the goggles free from my head and tucked them into my jacket pocket. The tall man turned to look down at me.

"Yes, and your name is?" he asked me as I smiled at him.

"I'm Mia."

He looked at me confused for a second, "That is a very peculiar name." He hummed as I shrugged.

"I could say Halling is a very peculiar name too, where I come from my name is common." Halling broke out into a grin as we walked onto a dirt track. In the distance I could see fires and structures, I assumed it was Halling's village.

"You carry strange weapons." He spoke to me as I glanced down at the gun.

"They are for our protection. See, we come from a different galaxy from this one. We are explorers—traders and we don't know what's out there so we use these," I held up the gun, "to protect us from any animals or unfriendly foes."

"I do not understand this, 'galaxy' part." He admitted to me as I smiled to myself. I wasn't a bloody scientist, but I did know how to dumb things down.

"Ok, so your planet, and many others are in what we call the Pegasus Galaxy. It's like a whole group of planets in one place. My world, Earth, is in a completely different galaxy called the Milky Way. We travelled from one galaxy to another, this one in fact to search for Atlantis."

"The city of the Ancestors!" Halling exclaimed as I widened my eyes.

"Well, yes. We found it—"

"Lieutenant!" I heard a gruff voice say, I turned my head to see dad glowering at me, "I do hope you aren't disclosing any vital information." He spoke as his eyes flicked to Halling and then back to me.

"No sir!" I called back and then turned to Halling. We had almost reached the settlement.

"Is he the leader of your people?" Halling asked me as I snorted.

"He wishes…no, he's the leader of the military of our people," I saw Halling's confused face, "uh, soldiers." He then smiled in understanding. "We have two groups, the…soldiers and then the scientists. There's a woman, her name is Elizabeth Weir and she commands everyone. He just leads the soldiers."

"I see." Halling said as we reached the outskirts of the village. It seemed that people were still up at this time of night as I could hear laughter and children playing. Halling and I fell into a silence as we walked through the center of the village. People emerged from their huts to watch us. It was eerie but also calming, none of the villagers were hostile towards us. At the back of the village was a rather large tent, the laughter I had heard before was coming from that tent.

As we neared Halling called out, "It's Halling. I bring men and a woman from away." There was silence for a second, and then I heard a female voice call out.

"Enter."

Halling held open the tent door for me as I step through and glance around. There is a large table in the center of the room; each corner of the table was full of drinks and food. Every single eye was on us when we entered. Ford came and stood next to me as I watched a woman, with long auburn hair and a beautiful olive skin tone rise and frown at us, but out of curiosity. "They wish to trade," Halling said doubtfully as the woman I guessed was this Teyla raised a brow at all of us.

"It's nice to meet you." Sheppard said as he took off his infrared goggles.

"I am Teyla Emmagan, daughter of Torren."

"Colonel Marshall Sumner, Major Sheppard, Lieutenant Ford and Lieutenant Sumner." Dad said as he pointed to each one of us. Teyla's eyes lingered on me for a moment. "We have very few specific needs." Dad's voice took Teyla's eyes off me as she focused back on him.

"We do not trade with strangers." She said with a stern voice and a frown.

"Is that a fact?" I heard dad say as I shot him a glare but he didn't see it. Now was not the time for him to be a dick.

"Well then, we'll just have to get to know each other," Ford and I glanced at each other as we smirked at Sheppard's tactics. "Me, um I like Ferris wheels and college football, anything that goes over two-hundred miles per hour." Ford leaned into Sheppard and whispered something; I heard Sheppard reply with something that sounded like one of us should help him out.

"Each morning, before dawn, our people drink a stout tea to brace us for the coming day. Will you join us?" Teyla asked us. I guess that could be taken as a good sign as Sheppard announced that he liked a nice cup of tea. "Dawn is still hours away," Teyla continued, "You may rest in one of our unoccupied tents, Halling will show you where it is. We were all about to retire anyway." She said as I saw dad nod his head.

"Thank you." I heard him say gruffly. Ford, Sheppard, dad and I all thanked them again as we all readied to leave this tent and go have some well deserved rest.

I felt a hand on my arm as I turned and saw Teyla smiling at me, "You may share my room, it is no inconvenience." I felt my jaw slack slightly as I fixed my gaze to the rest of the team. I saw dad step forward.

"That wont be necessary. We wont split up." He said in his stern tone as I looked back to Teyla. A frown marred her delicate features.

"It appears you do not trust me. If you wish to become trading partners a certain degree of trust and loyalty must be shown before we can even begin the negotiations." She retorted, completely unfazed by the harshness of dads words. I could see that dad was about to argue with her on this so I stepped between their gazes.

"It's fine, these people are willing to let us stay in their village, and the least we can do is adhere to their customs." I saw dad take a deep breath and exhale through his nose.

"Fine…let's move out." He turned and left the tent, leaving Teyla and I.

I sighed as I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment. "Sorry about that," I apologized to Teyla as she smiled and waved her hand.

"It is quite alright. If the roles were reversed I would be hesitant for my daughter to be separated from me." Her words shocked me as I laughed.

"How did you know?" I asked as she gave me a knowing look as she guided me from the tent. It had gotten colder quickly as I crossed my arms over my chest, even through the long sleeves I could still feel the nippy weather.

"I can see the resemblance," she grinned at me as I rolled my eyes.

"Well I can honestly say I've never heard anyone say that before." Teyla looked at me weirdly as we stopped outside of a small tent.

"You and your father do not get along?" she asked as I sighed and shrugged.

"It's not that we don't get along. We just have a very different opinion of the way I want to live my life."

"I do not understand." Teyla said slowly. I smirked.

"It's a very long story, spans eight years in fact. Let's just say that we don't ever see eye to eye."

Teyla gave me a long smile as she held up the tent door for me, "That it very ironic." She said softly as I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You have his eyes."

* * *

The next day consisted of Ford and I, a few other marines watching the Stargate and reporting back to Atlantis on what we have discovered so far…and that was pretty much nothing. Dad and Major Sheppard were the ones who got to have all the fun. As it turns out there was an ancient city across the lake that we didn't know existed until this morning, dad had taken a few marines to go check it out and Teyla had taken Major Sheppard to go see some old ruins because apparently there was something we should know because we had never encountered an enemy called the Wraith before. From the brief description Halling had given me, the Wraith were disgusting creatures that culled human worlds and fed on you with their bare hands…lovely. Needless to say I skipped out on breakfast this morning.

Ford and I were sitting on the ground, of course we knew that if dad came and saw us like this he'd have our heads, but it was hot and I didn't really want to be standing around while nothing was happening. Two of the other marines were off in the distance walking around the perimeter as Ford and I chatted about our lives back home on Earth.

"So you still dating that girl, what was her name?" I asked him as Ford chuckled.

"Carly."

I grinned slyly, "Ah, the stripper." I smirked as Ford shook his head.

"Exotic dancer." He defended as I ripped up a bit of grass and threw it at him.

"That's a stripper, you moron." Ford and I laughed together.

"Nah, we broke up a few months ago. I guess dating a military guy wasn't what she thought it would be." I felt bad for Ford; relationships had never been his strong point for him growing up.

"Well, we are in a new galaxy Ford, you might meet your soul mate in alien form." I smirked again as Ford glared at me and then rolled his eyes.

"Do you think we'll go back to Earth?" Ford said suddenly, I felt the light and happy mood from before disappear as I shrugged my shoulders and leaned back on my hands.

"I don't know." I admitted, "We might not even get back to Atlantis at the rate the shields depleting. But I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my days out here in the Pegasus Galaxy." I glanced up at the orange sky. The days here on the planet were extremely short, the sun had only been up about seven hours and it was already getting dark.

"Don't you miss home though?" he asked softly. I knew whom Ford would be referring too. His grandparents, they'd raised him since he was three, and his cousin Lara.

"I don't have anything back in Arizona," I said absentmindedly. That seemed to end the conversation as Ford and I delved into a silence. It wasn't long after that, that the two other marines came back and it was Ford's and my turn to scout the perimeter. We held our guns to our chests as we walked slowly around the edge of the forest, we didn't talk the whole way and I wanted to know if I had offended Ford by saying that I didn't miss home.

It was only when we took up positions in front of the DHD that Ford spoke, "The days are short here." He commented as I nodded in agreement, by now the sun had set and the planet was thrown into darkness.

The radio buzzed in my ear as I heard my dads voice come though, "Major Sheppard, this is Colonel Sumner. Come in."

"Colonel, this is Lieutenant Ford. Major Sheppard is out of radio range at the moment." Ford replied into the radio as he cast me a worried look.

"Where the hell is he?" Dad's gruff reply came through the earpiece. Ford sent me another look as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I think Teyla wanted him to see something." He said as suddenly the Stargate activated. The chevrons locking ricocheted through the field as I gripped my gun up to my chest as I pointed it at the gate, I heard the two other Marines join me. "Defensive positions!" Ford yelled to us, I went and crouched down by the DHD as Ford yelled into his radio, "Colonel, we have gate activity here!"

The wormhole established as three aircraft came zooming out of the Stargate, they were long and pointed and looked pretty freaking alien to me. "Colonel, three bandits heading your way." Ford said into the radio, I followed the aircrafts with my eyes as I pursed my lips. The village was in trouble, I didn't want to sit around and wait for something to happen. And besides, dad was in the village, he would need all the help he could get to take down those ships.

Standing up I let the gun drop as I spun on my heel as I sprinted towards the forest. "Mia!" I heard Ford screaming my name, I didn't pay him any attention as I entered the forest and ran full sprint towards the sounds of screaming and explosions.

My breathing was coming out ragged as I reached the tree line of the village. The ships were firing on the huts as they exploded. Women and children were screaming as they were running away from the invaders. Over to my left I spotted Halling trying to help a man who had been caught under a large wooden beam, I ran over to him as he saw me and smiled at me when I reached him.

"What's happening?" I asked Halling as he glanced around worriedly.

"It's the Wraith, they've come to cull." He said ominously as I felt my eyes widen at the thought of the disgusting creatures he had told me about.

"We need to get everyone out of here." I said as Halling nodded, we both turned to the man who was unconscious, the beam was crushing his left leg, there was a deep gash on his head that was bleeding steadily and I knew that if it didn't stop he would likely die of blood loss.

I gripped the beam as Halling did the same opposite me as we both pulled the beam and rolled it away. I immediately went to the unconscious mans side as I dug in my vest and pulled out a gauze and started putting pressure on the mans forehead. I managed to tie it around his hairline and was certain that it would stop the bleeding, until I could get him to a doctor on Atlantis or something.

I could hear the ships overhead, as they seemed to be circling the village, it was then I saw how people got culled by the Wraith. A small group of Athosian's were heading to the forest when a white beam of light shone over them and then suddenly they were gone, I gasped as I registered that someone was yelling my name.

"Mia move, get out the way!" I heard someone shout. I looked and saw dad running towards me, waving his arm at something behind me. I turned and saw a ship heading straight for Halling and I. Before I knew it, I saw a white beam of light and then the next thing…darkness…

* * *

Well I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! As this was a special first chapter it was 10 pages, but from now on all other chapters are going to be 5 pages long, sorry! It's how i've set it out.

Tune in next week!


	2. Genesis - Chapter 2

Hello everyone to a new week! Thursdays are now my favourite day of the week. I am honoured that I got 4 reviews for the first chapter, thank you all so much! I didn't think i'd even receive 1 for the first chapter. I won't talk long, but it makes me cringe in these first few chapters with Mia's whiney stage, trust me she doesn't stay like that for long! I feel bad cause she may be acting like a Sue but she isn't I promise, just a few more chapters and then we'll see a badass! Thank you all again!

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis.**

My head hurt, my back was leaning up against something cool as I felt my body shiver. I could feel something soft running up and down the back of my hand, it felt so familiar, that soothing feeling, I remember it from when I was a child. "Mom?" I mumbled subconsciously as my eyes opened. I blinked a few times as my vision went from blurry to clear, my gaze went to my hand as I saw another hand on top of mine. My gaze travelled up their arm as I frowned in confusion, "Dad?" I mumbled in shock. Dad had never been this affectionate towards me in years, not since I was ten. His electric blue eyes, identical to mine bore into my own as I saw the corner of his mouth turn up slightly into a smile. I looked around finally to see where we were. We were in a small holding cell, a few Marines were here and Teyla's people, in fact, Teyla herself was here, as was Halling. I moved to stand up as dad gripped my hand as he helped pull me up from the wall. Teyla noticed the movement as she walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she asked me as I held my head from the dizzy spell I got.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What the hell was that light? And where are we?" I asked her as her expression turned sour.

"It's a weapon the Wraith use to cull humans, it takes us into their ships and then they come here." She motioned with her hand to the cell. The cell itself was disgusting, everything looked organic and alien to me, the doors to the cell were these webbed things, I watched a Marine touch one as his finger came back sticky. Urgh.

"This is a hive ship." Teyla continued as I looked at her with a quizzical expression.

"Mother ship." I heard dad comment from beside me. I nodded in understanding as I finally noticed that I had been stripped of my flak jacket and weapons, all that was left was my tight fitting black shirt and black trousers and combat boots. I guess during our captivity my hair had come loose, the blonde strands fanned around my face. I rubbed my head as I could feel a headache coming along. "Do you know what to expect?" Dad asked Teyla as she Athosian woman shook her head. I leant back against the wall as I sighed and closed my eyes. Not even a day on Atlantis and I was already going to die. I opened my eyes when I heard footsteps approaching our holding cell.

Now was the first time I was able to see the Wraith. The door opened and three Wraiths stepped in. The one at the front had this disgusting green-ish skin, the eyes were yellow and cat like, beside the nose was a slit on either side reminding me of a fish for some reason. Its hair was white and long. Beside him were two other Wraiths but their faces were covered with some gross organic mask that reminded me of an acorn. I watched dad step forwards to block the unmasked Wraiths way, "I'm Colonel Marshall Sum—" I flinched as dad was backhanded and thrown across the other side of the cell. I went to run to him and see if he was ok when the Wraith who had hit him stared me down, I stopped in my tracks as he advanced towards me. I backed up until I felt my back hit the wall, my gaze flicked from the Wraith to dad who was slowly getting up with some help from Bates as I turned my gaze back to the Wraith in front of me. His eyes were roaming over my face as my breaths came out in little pants. Was this it? Was I about to have the life sucked out of me with his hand?

I was waiting for him to make the move but he snarled and then turned to one of the male Athosian's. "No, please!" he begged as the warrior Wraith walked to him and grabbed him by the throat and dragged him from the room.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I slumped back against the wall and slid down until I hit the floor with a thud, I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder as I looked up to Teyla, she was giving me a reassuring smile as I smiled weakly back at her. "What's going to happen to us?" I heard a voice say. Teyla and I glanced over to see a young girl of fifteen, maybe sixteen say as she hugged herself, tears streamed down her face. Teyla hurried over to her and enveloped her into a hug; I pushed myself up off of the floor and walked over to them too.

"I do not know. But we must not loose hope." Teyla said calmly to the girl, she then turned to look at everyone else, "If we show them fear, they will use it against us, we must be strong." She said defiantly. I nodded in agreement, I glanced back at dad, he was talking quietly to Bates in a hushed whisper. As if he could sense me staring at him he turned and looked at me. It seemed that in the few hours we had been in captivity he had aged a few years, the lines on his face were more prominent, I could feel the stress radiating off of him in waves.

I felt my feet moving me towards him before I registered what was happening, Bates excused himself as I stood facing dad. "I just wanted to…what I mean is…" I tried to say but failed, dad and I had a rocky relationship; we hadn't spoken a word or seen each other in eight years. But the prospect of dying was so near that I wanted to apologize to him before it was too late. "I'm sorry if I disappointed you." I mumbled softly as I glanced away from his gaze, I didn't want to see the anger on his face that I had brought this up again.

"I was never disappointed," I heard him utter as I snapped my gaze back to his, my mouth dropped open to speak but he beat me to it. "I was mad, but never disappointed in you."

"But you…" I trailed off as he gave me a half smirk.

"I said some mean things Mia. But I didn't mean them, I was mad and surprised and I dealt with it the wrong way."

"They're returning!" Halling called out as dad and I turned to see the same three Wraiths coming towards the cell again. Dad and I stood shoulder to shoulder as the door opened and the watched in horror as the main Wraith stalked towards me. Oh god, he was going to take me away and suck the life out of me. His cat like eyes bore into mine as I stood my ground, I wouldn't show him weakness. I was ready to accept my fate when a figure moved before me. Dad stepped in front of me, blocking me completely from view.

"I'm the leader, you want me, not her." He spoke with such venom in his voice that even I cringed. I heard the Wraith snarl as dad turned his head to look down at me, he smiled as he started walking away from me.

"No," I whispered to myself, I tried to run out from the cell but the door slid back into place as I pressed up against the grate. "Colonel! Colonel!" I cried but he didn't turn around to look at me. " _Dad!_ " My voice broke as I watched as he glanced over his shoulder to send me a final smile.

And then he was gone…

It was silent; no doubt everyone had witnessed my small meltdown at seeing my dad get taken away for killing. With anger running through my veins I lashed out and kicked the cell door with my foot, screaming out in rage.

"You sons of bitches!" I screamed. I could feel my anger rising, and I couldn't get rid of it, I felt hot and agitated, I needed to hit something or throw something but there was nothing around me. I gripped my hair and pulled on it, hoping to release some of my anger.

"You need to calm down," I heard Teyla's soothing voice, but that just made me angrier.

"Calm down? The Wraith just took my dad to feed on him! How the hell am I supposed to calm down?" I yelled at her, I felt bad for yelling at Teyla but I was just so mad, and frightened. I didn't was dad to die, I needed him; he was the only family I had left. If he was gone, I don't know what I'd do.

"See, I told you it was her." I heard a very familiar voice say, I spun around and ran to the grate.

"Ford!" I said in relief as I saw Ford and Major Sheppard approach us from around a small corner. All the anger dissipated from me at the sight of my friend, Major Sheppard and Ford came up to the bars as Teyla and Halling joined me.

"How did you find us?" Teyla asked as Halling cut her off.

"Is my son alive?"

Sheppard nodded to Halling, "He's alive and waiting for you." I watch as Sheppard's eyes scan over everyone in the cell, finally looking to me, "Where's Colonel Sumner?" He asked me.

"He was taken by them." I replied, Sheppard and Ford shared a look as Sheppard turned his gaze back to me.

"When was he taken?" he asked, I shook my head.

"Not long. Please, you have to save him." I pleaded as Sheppard nodded to me. He turned to Ford.

"Rig up enough C4 to blow a hole and get these people out of here on my signal, all right? I can find the Colonel with this." He held up some white gadget, "There aren't many Wraith around, I should be able to do this. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, blow the cells and get out."

"You're the only one who can fly these people out of here." Hold on, fly? When did we get aircraft?

"I'm going to fly us all out of here, including the Colonel," Sheppard glanced at me when he mentioned dad as I smiled at him in thanks. "Twenty minutes…I'll find him." he said more to himself than anyone else as he stalked off down the hall, watching that little white gadget.

 **X**

Ford didn't rig up the C4 just yet incase any patrols came around; he didn't want to alert them until it was time. I was sitting with my back against the wall again, though I was next to the door now. I leaned my head back on the wall as I shut my eyes for a second. The next second I heard footsteps coming our way as I rose from my position, hopefully I could take them off guard and take them out, then make my way to wherever Major Sheppard was and help him rescue my dad. I heard the door slide open as I spun around and went to hit the Wraith in the face. But I was stopped instantly as the Wraith dodged and grabbed my arm and pinned it to my back.

"Mia!" I heard Teyla yell as I was forced onto my knees in the doorway. I struggled and tried to break free of his grip. It was the same Wraith who had taken dad. I felt a blow to the back of my head as my vision went dark for a second, when I came to I was lying on the floor outside the cell. Hands tugged on my shirt and shoulders as I was yanked up off the floor and into a standing position. My head spun violently and I had to use all my willpower to not vomit on the floor at the Wraith's feet. They were half dragging me through the complex as my head lolled to the side, I tried with all my might to stay awake and fight the ever growing darkness that in the back of my mind. It was only when I heard gunfire that I knew something was going on, I felt the Wraith's let go of my arms as I stumbled and turned around, the mask less Wraith was dead on the floor and I watched as Ford darted out from the corner and took down the other Wraith. There was only one more left, he seemed to have forgotten about me as I ran up behind him and placed my hands around his neck. I jerked it violently to the side as I heard a distinctive crack and it slumped to the floor.

Seeing Ford running up to me brought a smile to my face, I wiped my forehead from the sweat that had built up from banishing the sleepiness from my mind as Ford placed a hand on my head. When he pulled his fingers away there was blood on them, "Mia, you alright?" he asked as I nodded.

"Yeah, come on, we need to find Major Sheppard and help him rescue dad."

Ford nodded as he reached to his leg holster and handed me his handgun, I checked the ammunition as I nodded to him that I was ready to go. He ducked his head down as he began following what I saw as shoe marks. The floor was very dusty and left footprints that we could follow, I recognized the tread as a standard issue of any military. I followed for a few more minutes, it was when he held his arm out to me to stop that I moved to press my back up against the wall as he peered into the large room before us. He made hand signs to me, telling me that there were four Wraiths in total in the room, three on one side and one on the other. Seeing as I had the small and slower gun I'd be taking to one out and then helping Ford with the rest. I nodded to him, telling him that I was ready as we both jumped out from behind the wall; I spotted the lone Wraith as I let the bullets fly. The gun recoiled into my hand from the six bullets that I shot into its chest. I could hear Ford's P-90 rapid firing as suddenly explosions rocked the complex. I trail the gun onto the next Wraith as I shot him in the chest as well.

The handgun clicked out as I yelled to Ford, "I'm out!" he reached into his vest pocket as I let the ammunition drop out as Ford chucked the same ammo to me as I quickly clicked it into place just as I heard more Wraith come in behind us. I spun around with Ford as we both took down the three Wraiths who tried to enter the room, once they were done we turned to see Major Sheppard pulling some weird sword thing out of a female Wraiths body. She collapsed to the floor as Sheppard turned to us.

"How'd you find me? And how'd you get out of the cell?" he asked Ford and I.

"Tread marks," Ford smirked as I shrugged.

"I guess I was dessert." I laughed as I turned serious and glanced around the room, "Sheppard, where's my dad?" I asked him softly.

Sheppard met my gaze and I saw the sadness and guilt reflect from them. He turned slightly and it was then I was finally able to see a body lying on the floor. I recognized the uniform as I felt the handgun slip from my fingers and clatter to the floor.

" _No!"_ I screamed hoarsely as I tried running to him. I felt Sheppard catch me around the waist as he tried to pull me back.

"We have to go," I heard him say to me. I shook my head and pried his hands away from me. His hands tried to grab the back of my shirt but I was too quick. I skidded onto my knees by him as I gripped his blood-soaked shirt.

"Dad!" I yelled as I tugged on his shirt. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I saw him, it was as everyone said, he basically had the life sucked out of him. His face was hollow and contorted in pain, his grey hair was wispy on top of his head. On his chest was a grotesque hand print and a bullet hole. I touched his cheek and his body had already gone cold, I bowed my head in sorrow, "I'm sorry." I whispered as I felt a tear run down my cheek and drip off my chin onto his stained shirt. I heard the rustling of clothes as someone knelt down next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I tried to save him." Sheppard said quietly to me. I heard gunfire nearby and a few more explosions. "We need to leave." He said somberly. I didn't want to move, I couldn't believe this had happened. I could feel Sheppard tugging me but I held onto my dad's shirt.

"Leave me alone, just go! I won't leave him behind!" I cried to both Sheppard and Ford.

"We aren't leaving you here, Mia." Ford said strongly, I turned my head sharply to see Ford glaring at me with a frown, but it softened when he saw my expression.

"He's the only family I had left, Aiden," I whispered, my voice breaking at the end.

"I don't think Colonel Sumner would want you to join him in the afterlife right now," Sheppard said harshly as he was looking down at the white gadget I saw earlier, in a fluid motion I felt Sheppard take my arm as he pulled me up and thrust me towards Ford. I was shocked at first, then it turned to anger. I was about to yell at him when he looked to Ford, "We need to leave, now. Ford, you make sure she leaves." He pointed at me as Ford took my arm.

"No! I can't leave him here!" I screamed as I tried to break free of Ford's iron grip. It was no use as Ford all but dragged me from the room, Sheppard close behind us.

* * *

It was a few hours after we had returned back to Atlantis, to my shock the city was on top of the ocean, I had overheard McKay telling everyone about the failsafe that was in place should the shields fail and I was thankful to the Ancients for putting something like that in place. Currently I was in the infirmary waiting for Dr. Beckett to come and check that my body running normally after being beamed up in the Wraith dart. Since returning I hadn't spoken to anyone, I didn't want to, all I felt was this numbing feeling in my chest, and every time I breathed I either wanted to start crying again or just sleep and never wake up.

My legs dangled over the edge of the bed as my fists gripped the stark white sheet tightly. I heard the sound of light footsteps as I glanced up just as Dr. Beckett came around the corner with his tablet in hand. "Well, lass, seems you are perfectly fine. There seems to be no lasting effect of the beaming device that you encountered." His kind face made me want to smile but I just couldn't do it. I was the farthest thing from happy right now. It seemed Dr. Beckett caught onto my mood as he sighed and set the tablet down beside me. He placed his hand on my knee in a friendly gesture, "I know you must be feeling very sad now, lass. I'm sure if I was in your position I'd be feeling the exact same way." I met his gaze; I wasn't sure how Beckett was trying to make me feel better.

He sighed, "What I mean is…it's alright to be sad. He was your father." Before I knew it, I was jumping off the bed and running out of the room. "Lieutenant!" I heard him yell, but I was already out the infirmary.

I was just running, I didn't know where, and I didn't care. I just had to get away from people and be alone, I wasn't used to feeling like this about my dad, and it scared me. And it made me feel like a rotten piece of human being.

I hadn't even changed out of the clothes I had been captured in; I was still wearing the dirty black shirt and black pants and boots. My hair was dirty and matted as it blew around my face as I opened a door to a balcony that overlooked the ocean. I was facing the sun as it shone onto my pale skin, the sky was a mixture of orange, pink and purple as I walked to the railing, I placed my hands on the cool metal as I took a deep breath, and then it all came out. I hunched over the railing as I began to sob, I hadn't cried like that in a long, long time…

* * *

I don't know how long it had been when I heard the door behind me open, but if I had to guess who it was, it must be Ford. Tears still leaked from my eyes as I finally opened up about why dad's death was hurting me so much. "'A soldier never shows weakness'" I rasped out as I gripped the railing tighter, "'a soldier never shows his tears'" I sniffed as I turned around and saw Ford standing there looking sad. I could see his own heart breaking as I pushed off the railing as I barreled into him, "He's gone Ford," I sobbed into his shirt as I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders.

"It's alright Mia," he tried to soothe me. I shook my head as I pulled back from him.

"No, it's not Ford. I'm the reason he's dead! The wraith wanted me but dad stepped in front of me and they took him instead! It should have been me!" I cried as Ford held onto my shoulders.

"Mia that's not your fault." He tried to reason with me but again I shook my head.

"Yes it is. Atlantis needs him not me, he's more important to this mission then I am!"

"Don't you think that if your dad hadn't stepped in and took your place he'd be feeling the exact same thing, or worse because he didn't protect his child? Think of your mother, Mia. Your dad was doing his job as a father; he protected you, like he should have. Just like your mother did." I let his words sink in as I dropped my head onto his chest.

"I don't have anyone left, Ford." I sobbed to him as his arms went around my shoulders once more and I felt his cheek rest on the top of my head.

"You've got me Mia," he said softly as I felt myself smile for the first time in hours. It was true, Ford was like a brother to me, he had always been there for me, and he was here for me now. Aiden Ford was my family.

"You know, even if your dad said those things, it's still ok to cry. If you didn't cry about him dying, I'd be worried." I nodded as I pulled away.

"Thanks Aiden. I think I'll go to sleep now." I walked away as I left him standing there.

* * *

 **Replies**

 **Adela** \- Thank you so much for saying that!

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you! I'm so excited!

 **parmakai66** \- Thank you! And here you go, hope you enjoyed it!

 **Vadercat** \- The way I have set it out is that it will follow the story line, but there will be changes seeing as a new character has been placed into it, but I know the first few chapters are pretty much rewrites but it's not like that I promise. There are completely new things that I had added in as well. I try to make it exciting and intriguing from having it in a POV

Thanks again! I know it's kind of a rewrite of the first episodes right now but I promise that it's not always like that, I try to have it be told from the oc POV as you can do so much more with a story like this! See you all next week!


	3. Genesis - Chapter 3

Hello everyone, new week, new chapter! I'm glad everyone who reviewed is liking the story so far, trust me I can't wait for more chapter to come out as they do get a lot better I promise!

In this chapter Mia interacts with a few more people and I would like your opinions on if I have kept them all in character! I have tried with all my might and I would love some feedback! They might be a bit off in this one as it was so early into my writing it but hopefully I have done them all justice.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis.**

It was the day after we had returned from being captured by the Wraith; it was late at night as I lay in bed in my oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. A few hours ago they had held a memorial for my dad but I didn't go. I knew my dad was respected but I also knew that he was hated and I didn't want to watch people pretend that they were sad that he was gone. So I just spent the whole day and night cooped up in the room that they had assigned me. I rolled over onto my side as I sighed deeply, Ford had tried coming around earlier today to check up on me but I had told him to leave me alone, I just wanted to be by myself today. I rubbed my eyes just as the chime for my room sounded, I rolled over to my other side and could see the shadow in the doorway. I waited a few seconds for them to hopefully leave when the chime sounded again, and then again. I grumbled to myself as I threw the covers off and padded across the cool marble and moved my hand over the mechanism. The door slid open and to my shock Major Sheppard stood there. He was in his uniform still, even at this late hour, with his hands clasped behind his back. "Major Sheppard," I said, startled.

"Hi," he said simply. He cleared his throat, "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing."

I cocked an eyebrow, "At one in the morning?" I said in disbelief.

He pressed his lips into a firm line, "Ok, I lied. It keeps bugging me, I thought I would've seen you at the memorial today so I could give you them but when you didn't show I kind of spent the whole night thinking of when would be the best time to give them to you."

"Give what to me, Major?" I asked him as he brought one of his hands out from behind his back. Dangling off a chain were a pair of dog tags, I reached out and flipped one over, I could feel a lump forming in the back of my throat when I read who's tags they were. Sheppard dropped them into my hand as I closed my fist over them.

"Thank you, Major." I said as I turned away slightly.

"There's one more," he said, stopping me from moving back into my room. With his other hand he held a photo, I immediately recognized the picture as I ripped it from his hands and brought it to my face. I hadn't seen this photo in years, it was a picture of my first day at high school, my honey blonde hair was in two low braids, my teeth were covered in the horrible braces that I had as I smiled widely at the camera. I was wearing a blue striped shirt and jeans with my backpack slung over one shoulder and a blue Marine Corp. hat. Next to me was my dad; his hand was on my shoulder as he smirked at the camera in his uniform. I remembered this moment like it was yesterday, it had been one of the last years in which my dad and I got along. The following year when I was fourteen was when we started to distance as I realized that tradition wasn't everything in my family.

"Turn it over," I heard Sheppard say as I flipped over the photo. In a horrible scrawl I recognized as my dads were the words, ' _Look after Mia if I'm not there to do it.'_ My gaze met Sheppard's as he rubbed the back of his head, "I had McKay do some weird science thing on the ink and turns out that he only wrote that a few days ago," he paused, "the ink still smudged." He said as I turned the photo back over in my hand.

"Thanks for this, you didn't have to."

Sheppard smiled and shrugged, "Ah, it was no big deal. Just thought you'd want some of the things he was carrying." Sheppard seemed to grow awkward for a second as I leaned on the doorframe.

"Is there anything else? It's quite late." I said.

Sheppard ground his shoe against the floor as he sighed, "Look, I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry about what happened. And I thought you should know that I shot him—"

"I know. I saw the bullet hole." I cut him off, "I'm glad you did, Major." With that I took a step back and swiped my hand over the panel and the doors slid shut. With the photo and dog tags in hand I walked over to my desk and placed them both down as I smiled at the photo one last time.

* * *

"Lieutenant Sumner, please report to Dr. Weir's office." I heard Grodin's voice over the comms as I finished tying up my shoelace of my combat boots. I had finally been given more pairs of my uniform after having the other ones stolen by the Wraith, I zipped up the jacket with black panels marking me as military as I attached my side arm to my leg and left my quarters. My hair was pulled back into a neat bun as I walked down the halls towards the control room where Weir's office was. I had no idea why she would want to see me; she had talked to me two days ago about how I was doing about my dad's death. It was now our fifth day here on Atlantis and I still had not been assigned to any team, which made me think that no one here wanted anything to do with me after dad dying. I reached the control room and saw that it was remarkably quiet; I hurried up the stairs and across the catwalk into Weir's office as I stood at attention.

"You asked for me, ma'am?" I said as Weir looked up from her tablet and gave me a smile.

"Lieutenant yes, please sit down, I would like to ask you a few things." I nodded as I sidestepped to the chair beside me and sat down with my back straight. "I realize I haven't talked with you for a few days, and it has me concerned."

"Dr. Weir, I can tell where this is going and I assure you, I'm fine. As fine as anyone can be in my situation." She gave me a tight-lipped nod as she placed her clasped hands on the desk and leaned forwards.

"Alright, here's my next question. Why haven't you enquired about not joining a team? From your record you are a brilliant soldier, you specialized in hand-to-hand combat and they paid for you do to a physics degree in Mechanical Engineering. It says here that you built your own tank from scrap pieces."

"I didn't realize we had to request being on a team, I thought the leaders of them picked their own teams."

"That may be so," she cocked her eyebrow, "But circumstances change when each team I have here is fighting over you."

I frowned in confusion, "Fighting?"

"Well, not exactly tooth and nail but all my teams have put in a request to have you as a member of their team." So that was why I hadn't joined a team yet, each team wanted me; it didn't really make me feel special, more like a guinea pig.

"So I'm offering you the choice, you can pick whichever team—"

"Good morning Dr. Weir, Lieutenant Sumner," a voice cut through Weir speaking as I turned in my seat and saw Major Sheppard and Ford stroll in with wide grins on their faces.

"Major Sheppard," Weir scolded, "I specifically told you not to interfere with her choice."

"I know, but we're not here for that, are we Ford?" Sheppard turned to Ford who was holding a file in his hands.

"Yes Sir, we just came to drop off our mission report for planet MX1-243." Ford leaned over the desk and handed it to Weir, I saw her smirk and shake her head.

"You know these get emailed to me, right?" she said sarcastically.

They both looked at each other for a second and then back to us, "We know." I looked back to Weir as she smirked and shook her head, her gaze went back to me.

"It's your choice, Lieutenant, I can have the team files brought to your room in a few hours so you can look over them and make your decision." I frowned at her; it was starting to feel like I was getting special treatment from everyone. Why was I the only military member who was allowed to choose which team I got to be on?

"Thank you, Dr. Weir. But I would prefer it if you chose the team for me, I understand everyone here is concerned about my wellbeing with my dad…dying, but, I shouldn't be receiving any special treatment because of the circumstances." I stood from the chair as Weir looked at me with her mouth slightly open. I nodded to her as I spun on my heel and hurried from the room, as soon as I was gone I could hear voices from her office but I was too far away to hear anything.

* * *

I was heading towards the gym room to hopefully relieve some stress and anger that I had been feeling the past few days when Teyla spotted me and jogged over to me. "Mia!" she called out from down the corridor.

I smiled softly at her, "Hi Teyla." I greeted as she smiled at me, she fell into step beside me.

"I have been meaning to come find you, I realize I haven't actually spoken with you since arriving to Atlantis."

"Oh, it's alright, you've been busy with your people, getting them all settled in. It's fine." I shrugged as she shook her head.

"It's not. I wanted to speak with you, as I can understand what you're going through. My father was also taken by the Wraith and I wanted you to know that I am here if you would like to talk about anything." We stopped walking as I stared at Teyla.

"Oh Teyla, I'm so sorry." I apologized as she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"It is alright, he died when I was a young girl, but I remember the pain and sadness that came when I realized that he had been taken from me. If you like, we could go to the mess hall and talk over lunch?" she offered.

"I would, but I was heading over to the gym to release some pent up stress, and I'm not very hungry at the moment." I said to her as she smiled at me.

"You fight?" she asked me.

I nodded, "I was trained in hand-to-hand combat."

"Would you allow me to join you? We can spar together," that had been the best news I had heard all day.

"Of course," I said with a grin as we headed off towards the gym.

"Major Sheppard told me that you were considering becoming apart of our team?" Teyla asked me as we entered the room.

I stopped and chuckled, "Did he now? Well he's getting a bit ahead of himself. It's not up to me to choose."

"But he—" she began but I cut her off as I unzipped my jacket and tossed it to the corner of the room.

"Dr. Weir has the final say of the teams, I told her that I didn't want to choose and that she can do it for me." Teyla nodded as she walked over to the wall and took two baton sticks and threw them over to me. She then took two herself as we met in the center of the room. She twirled the sticks around in her hands as I brought mine up to my face.

Teyla lunged as I blocked and spun under her arm as I brought one stick down, she blocked as I brought the other one around to her stomach as she blocked it with the other baton. We both exchanged hits, both blocking each and everyone that we gave each other. Teyla kicked her leg out as I jumped over it, I tossed the baton's to the wall as Teyla did the same, we were both panting as sweat rolled down my forehead. I went to kick my leg into her side as she blocked it with her forearm as I brought it back, using the momentum I spun the other way with my leg to do a roundhouse kick. She ducked down and surprised me by doing an uppercut to my chin, I felt my teeth bite into my tongue as I stumbled back and hit the floor. Blood pooled into my mouth as I rolled over onto my side and spat it out, unladylike onto the floor beside me. "Mia, are you alright?" Teyla hurried over to me as I saw her concerned face looming over me.

"Yeah, I'm good." I said weakly as I rubbed my chin, sore from her hard punch. She reached her hand down to me as I smiled at her, I clasped her hand and with a sharp tug I pulled her forwards and used my foot to hoist her over myself as she flipped over myself and landed on the floor with a thud. We were both sweating and panting heavily, and then Teyla started laughing. Soon her laugh became infectious as I chuckled with her. I groaned in pain as I pushed myself up into a sitting position, my back ached from the hard fall I had, I turned my head to the side as I saw Teyla rubbing the back of her head as she smirked at me.

"You are a well trained fighter, not many have managed to keep up with me."

"Thanks, I pride myself on managing to beat people up often, mostly men." Teyla laughed at me once more as she hoisted herself to her feet. She rubbed her side.

"I think I will go get some ice from Dr. Beckett, I am sure that hit you gave me is going to bruise," she said with a smile, she headed towards the door, before she left I called out to her.

"Hey, Teyla!" she stopped and turned towards me and inclined her head, "Thanks, for sparing with me. It really helped." She nodded to me once again.

"Anytime, Mia." She left the rec room as I pushed myself to my own feet and grabbed my grey jacket from the floor and flipped it over my shoulder.

* * *

After I had another shower and dressed into a clean uniform I dried my hair and pulled it into a low ponytail. "Lieutenant Sumner please report to Science lab 3." I heard over the comms. I sighed, it seemed everybody wanted me today. I left my room, noting to myself to ask Dr. Weir for my own radio when I saw her next as I headed to the stairs and went down two levels. I headed over a few bridges as I came to the door of science lab 3, I knew for a fact that this was McKay's lab. I entered and saw Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Beckett and Ford. When they heard my approach all their heads turned to me.

"Lieutenant it's about damn time." McKay groaned from the chair he was sitting on.

"Rodney," Weir scolded as I folded my hands behind my back.

"Can I just point out that I only have a few hours left before I die of starvation, I'm allowed to be grumpy." McKay carried on as I felt one of my brows raise in questioning as I saw Ford rolled his eyes.

"You're always grumpy, McKay." He mumbled as the scientist gave him a glare. My gaze went to Weir as she cleared her throat.

"If we could focus on the subject at hand."

McKay sat up straighter, "Right, well. We've exhausted every means necessary to try and find a way to remove this infernal device," McKay pointed to a small glowing object that was stuck onto his jacket, "And the good Dr. Weir thinks that you might be of assistance."

All eyes turned to me as I frowned, "Me?" I pointed to myself.

Weir stepped forwards, "You are a mechanical engineer, are you not?" she said as I scoffed.

"Of tanks and, and canons! Not some alien technology. Ask me to build you a tank and I'm your girl, but I don't have any experience with any of this stuff. I wouldn't even know where to begin." I said.

McKay scoffed, "See, I told you. Now I just wait patiently for the hunger to kill me." I saw Sheppard and Ford both glare at McKay as Weir sighed.

"Would you mind reading over the reports about the technology? Maybe Rodney overlooked something, and wasn't it your job to report on how some machines work, isn't this the exact same thing as that?" Well she caught me out on that one.

"Fine, I'll do it."

I agreed as Weir handed me a tablet as she smiled at me, "Thank you." I nodded to her as I spun on my heel and left the lab.

* * *

I was in the mess hall later that night, I was the only one left as the light from the tablet illuminated the area around me. The tray of food had long gone cold as I scrolled down on the screen and rubbed my eyes. Basically the shield was meant to protect McKay from any harm, but with all Ancient technologies it uses mental components to work them. There were a bunch of different frequencies you can set the shield onto to, and it looks like McKay had the most stupidest setting on out of all of them. The one that only lets air through. It was pretty simple to work out; I don't know how the scientists missed it.

I heard footsteps coming up to the table as I glanced up and saw Major Sheppard. "How's your reading going?" He asked as he sat opposite me, I let the tablet drop onto the table with a thud as rubbed my eyes once more.

"Boring, and anything but inspiring." I saw him smirk as his hazel eyes shone from the artificial lighting. "All it's told me is that McKay is as stubborn as they come. All he needs to do I just think the thing off and it'll drop off."

"That simple?" he chuckled as I closed the tablet down.

"Yeah, but this is McKay. He won't do it because right now he's getting all the attention." I smirked as Sheppard grinned at me. He then leaned forwards slightly and clasped his hands together like Weir would.

"What you said to Dr. Weir, about building a tank, is that true?" he spoke very serious and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, I built a tank, I had help from one of the other officers though."

"But you built a tank." He stated as I nodded. "Well, my commanding officer said that to prove my knowledge as a mechanical engineer I had to build something to…wow him."

"And building a tank was the first thing that came to mind?"

"When you say it like that," I said as he leaned back in his chair. "But to be honest a tank was the most basic thing I could come up with."

"What else is there?" he asked, a brow raised.

"A rocket." I said nonchalantly. He was silent until I snorted and he laughed. After he had calmed down he rose from the table.

"Come on Lieutenant, I've been ordered by Dr. Weir to escort you to your quarters. She says you've been sitting at this table for six hours now."

"No I haven't!" I defended.

"It's midnight, Lieutenant."

* * *

 **Reply's**

 **parmakai66** \- Thank you! Haha these blasted technologies these days! Hopefully I have corrected most of the speaking lines this chapter, forgive me if there are 1 or 2.

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you, I'm glad you think that. I believe that as well, I found Col. Sumner's death sad in the show but not as said as I did writing it!

 **Caty91** \- Thank you for sharing that with me and my condolences on the loss of your dad. Thank you for liking the story, it brings me joy to know this!

 **Adela** \- Thank you! Originally it was going to be John who comforted her but it made more sense to have Ford do it. They are best friends and she doesn't really know John and we all know the Major isn't good at sympathising sometimes!

 **Notary Sojac** \- Thank you! I'm happy you think that about her! She took me a long time to come up with, and yes I also feel a lot sadder whenever I read about his death now. For Mia it is a character builder which will be shown a bit later on in the season! Hopefully I have managed to fix nearly all of the speaking mistakes in this chapter! Forgive me if there is 1 or 2 leftover!

* * *

Thank you everyone for reviewing! It means the world to me!

Please let me know what you thought of this chapter, let me know if I kept the other characters in character. Hopefully I did them all justice. See you next week!


	4. Genesis - Chapter 4

Hi everyone! As always thank you to everyone who has alerted and favourited and reviewed my story, it means so much to me knowing that people are reading and enjoying! In this chapter there is a bit of medical knowhow, I am no doctor or nurse and I probably never will be so if something is wrong or doesn't add up don't hang me out to dry please! This is a fiction story anyway so some things can be made up, but hopefully i've kept it very doctor professional! Also in this chapter is a bit more interaction with more characters, and we're moving on in the episodes! More interactions with our favourite flyboy, but don't be expecting something to happen for a little while longer, that will be coming I promise and I will not disappoint. Enjoy and let me know what you think about the chapter!

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

I shrunk back down into my chair, ok, maybe I had been reading for far too long, and as much as I hated to admit it; I was pretty fascinated with the ancient technology. Sighing, I stood and took my tray to the bin as Major Sheppard handed the tablet to me. I thanked him as we walked out of the mess hall and towards the military living quarters.

The halls were dead quiet and completely empty as we walked down them, that was until I started talking. "I just want to clarify that my actual job in the army wasn't just building tanks and rockets," Sheppard glanced over at me, "If there had been an accident regarding machinery it was my job to find the fault and repair it so it wouldn't happen again. And when I was stationed out in Afghanistan I helped repair damaged vehicles and weapons that had been damaged in the war."

"So you never actually fought in the war?" he asked as I nodded my head.

"Oh god yes. I was a soldier long before I became a mechanical engineer. I enlisted when I was seventeen and they put me in the advanced hand-to-hand combat and artillery training. As soon as I was ready they shipped me off. I only finished my studies about a year ago."

"Oh." Was the only thing Sheppard said. I chuckled to myself as we reached the door to my quarters. I went to wave my hand over the device when a thought popped into my mind and I just had to ask Sheppard.

"Major, can I ask you something?" I asked as I turned slightly to look at him. I saw Sheppard shove his hands into his pockets.

"Shoot."

"Why are you doing this?" I said. I could see on his face that I had caught him off guard with my question. He didn't reply so I continued, "Why are you being so relaxed and nice to me?"

"I'm always like this," he said, trying to give a smirk.

"No, you're not. It's because of him, isn't it? My dad." I saw his body tense up and I knew I had hit the Hail Mary. "Clearly everyone thinks that I am incapable of taking care of myself."

"No one thinks that—"

"Really? Because I've been saying it for days and every time I'm around someone they look like they're walking on eggshells, like I'm going to break down or something. But here's the thing. Colonel Sumner may have been my dad, but he was never there for me. He stopped being my dad when he turned his back on me for joining the Army and not his beloved Marine Corp. The photo that you found in his jacket, my first day of High school, that was the only day I saw him that whole year, not for my birthday, and not for Christmas. He only came because it was a school run by an ex-marine. Get it now? My dad only wanted me so that I could follow in his footsteps."

"He was still you dad."

"So what if he was? He was more of a dad to Ford then he ever was to me." I moved my hand over the door device as it opened. "I don't need anyone to look after me, Major Sheppard, I've been doing fine the past ten years. Goodnight." I said as the door slid shut. I watched his shadow walk away as I headed over to the desk and saw the dog tags and picture. Opening up the small drawer I dropped them both in and slammed it shut.

* * *

I showered and changed into a long green shirt and finally let my hair down; I was just about to settle down into bed when the door sounded. I sighed and went to ignore it, "Mia, its Ford. There's an emergency." He sounded serious as I hurried over to the door and moved my hand over the sensor as the door opened and Ford stood there in his full gear.

"What's happened?" I asked immediately.

"Jinto's missing. We're going in teams of two to search the city. You're with me." He said as I nodded and rushed to grab my clothes. I quickly changed into my trousers, boots and tight black shirt. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail as I opened the door as Ford handed me the vest and P-90 as I zipped and strapped. Once I was ready we headed off to the Jumper Bay, as it was our first place to search. "Here," Ford said as he passed me an ear radio. I hooked it onto the back of my ear as I heard voices saying that areas were clear as I tuned it out.

Ford and I searched the Jumper bay but there was no sign of Jinto ever being there. We then made our way down to all the science labs; it was eerily dark and creepy down here. As we walked I had the feeling that we were being watched as a cold shiver ran up my spine as I stopped and turned. I raised the gun as I scanned the area, Ford stepped next to me and whispered, "What is it?" he asked, I could feel his stare on me. I lowered my gun, I was over-reacting, and there was nothing there.

"Nothing." I mumbled as we turned and started walking again. We reached the labs as Ford turned to me.

"We'll split up, there's fourteen labs which are being used and four not being used. So half each then meet up back here once we're done. If you need anything call me on the radio." He told me as he disappeared around a corner. With a horrible feeling in my gut I set off to check the nine labs.

Jinto was a slippery bugger I'll give him that, it had taken me at least near to an hour to search eight of the labs, I had one left which had a naquadah generator in it. As I was walking to the lab the lights and power suddenly switched off as I jumped. I was plunged into darkness as I turned the light on my P-90 on as I scanned the area. I reached up to my radio and clicked it on. "Ford, you got power where you are?" I asked as I continued down the corridor.

" _No, I think the whole city's gone dark_." He replied through the radio. Just before I reached the science lab the power came back on. It had lasted only a minute but it had felt like hours in the dark and creepy city. I turned the flashlight off, and as I glanced up I stopped in my tracks.

The door to the science lab was open and inside it was pitch black, and it wasn't from the lights not being turned on. It looked like a giant shadow, but smoky. The black smoke was swirling around something in the lab; I could see a faint light which I assumed was the generator, I'd seen a few of them before. Suddenly the power went out again as the light from the generator was gone. My hand went to my radio with a shaky hand, "Ford, the power on where you are?"

" _Yeah, I'm back at the meeting point_."

"— _All teams fall back to the gate room_." Sheppard's voice said over the radio. I was still staring at the smoke when I wanted to test out if this thing was alive. I raised my gun and lined it up with the scope. Pulling the trigger quickly the shot rang out and sliced through the shadow.

" _Mia!_ " Ford said through the radio, " _Mia what's going on?_ " I was going to reply to Ford when the smoke began to move out of the room and head straight for me.

"Oh shit." I gasped as I spun on my heel and ran for the hills.

I glanced over my shoulder; it was closing in on me, probably because I pissed it off.

" _Lieutenant report!"_ Sheppard's voice commanded through the radio as I skidded around a corner, at the end of this corridor was a shut door, and I prayed that even though the power was off the door would open.

"I don't know, but I pissed it off!" I yelled into the radio as I reached the door, I moved my hand over the device frantically but it wouldn't open. I turned and pressed my back onto the door as I saw the smoke drawing closer and closer to me, around me the lights flickered back on and the door behind me opened as I screamed and fell back onto the floor as the door smacked shut. I scurried back on my elbows, waiting to see if the smoke came through the door. After a few seconds I heard running footsteps and turned my head to see Ford, Major Sheppard and a few other Marine's coming towards me with their guns raised in defense.

"Mia!" Ford yelled as he appeared at my side and grabbed me by the upper arm and pulled me up into a standing position.

"Lieutenant what happened?" Sheppard said, I ignored him and went straight to the doors; I waved my hand over the console as the doors slid open. I prepared myself to see the black smoke but it wasn't there.

"Lieutenant." I heard Sheppard's voice, stronger and more commanding this time as I turned slowly.

"It was right here," I whispered.

"What was?" Ford asked. I rubbed my head as I met Sheppard's eyes.

"It was this smoke, it was in one of the science labs. I shot at it and it chased me here." I explained. I watched as all the Marine's, including Sheppard and Ford, gave each other skeptical looks.

"I'm not crazy!" I cried, "There was all this smoke, it was draining the power from the generator." They didn't say anything as I looked at Ford, he averted his gaze from me. "Ford, believe me." I pleaded to him. He gave a look to Sheppard as he stepped towards me.

"Mia, you've been under a lot of stress, mostly emotional. Sometimes people imagine things to distract them—"

"I didn't imagine this!" I cried, acting like a child. "This isn't because I'm emotionally traumatized. I'm telling you, this smoke or shadow whatever tried to attack me!"

* * *

So they didn't believe me. After my little 'meltdown' or whatever nonsense they spewed out Ford and Sheppard marched me straight to the infirmary to be checked by Beckett. I was lying on one of the beds, my boots off and my hands folded over my stomach as I glared at the ceiling. The curtain had been drawn around me to give me some privacy but I could still hear McKay winging about fainting earlier. As I lay there I heard voices on the other side of the curtain. I sprung up, thanking myself for taking my boots off so that they wouldn't hear me as I walked to the curtain.

"How's she doing, Carson?" that was Weir's voice.

"It's hard ta say. The poor lass has gone through quite a traumatic experience the last few weeks, travelling to a new galaxy, getting captured by the Wraith and having her father die all in the same day would send any normal person over the edge."

"So you're saying she's having a mental breakdown?" Sheppard's voice surprised me; I didn't expect him to be there.

"Not exactly a breakdown, more of a getaway. See, when most patients go through an experience like this it's not uncommon for them to imagine something that represents the pain they are going through."

"So the black smoke?" Weir spoke again.

"Could represent her father dying, or the Wraith for that matter."

"You should've seen her face doc. She looked petrified of the thing. Are you sure its emotional trauma?" Sheppard asked.

"It's hard to tell under these circumstances, but I would like to keep her under observation for tonight, just to be sure she hasn't contracted a virus from one of the science labs."

"Alright, let me know if anything changes." I heard Weir say as I heard her footsteps disappear. I scurried back to the bed and jumped back onto it just as the curtain pulled back to reveal Beckett with his tablet.

"I'm sorry about this, but I just want to keep you here tonight under observation."

"I know Dr. I heard you guys talking, you weren't being subtle." I chuckled as I saw Carson's cheeks flush a little. He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Get some rest, love." I nodded to him as Carson left me alone as I sighed and rolled over onto my side and shut my eyes.

It wasn't long before the curtains were ripped away as I jumped slightly and almost fell off the bed. "Good news Lieutenant, you're not crazy." Major Sheppard said with a smirk on his face. I jumped off the bed.

"I'm not?"

"Nope," he said, popping the 'p'. "Not sure if it's a good or bad thing but Grodin and I just saw the same thing you did."

Beckett came around the corner, a frown on his face, "Major Sheppard, Lieutenant Sumner needs her rest."

"Doc she's not having an emotional breakdown, the smoke she saw is real and is feeding off our generators." Sheppard said as I started putting my boots on my feet.

"Oh." He stuttered, "Well I guess that's good then," he said, shrugging as I stood up straight.

"So can I leave?" I asked, crossing my arms. Beckett sighed and gave me a half smile.

"I don't see why not."

"Thanks!" I said cheerfully as I brushed passed the good doctor and followed Major Sheppard out of the infirmary.

"Dr. Weir want's to speak to you about what you saw, seeing as you're the first one to have a hostile encounter with it."

I chuckled dryly, "I guess that makes me lucky then," I saw his mouth pull up into a smirk as we continued down the corridors at a swift pace.

"Major Sheppard." I began as we stopped at the base of the stairs to the control room. He turned to me. "About last night, or this morning, whatever."

"Don't worry about it, you're under a lot of stress right now." He turned to run up the stairs but I called out.

"Major, please let me explain." I begged as he stopped and looked down at me. "My dad and I had a lot of unresolved issues, but what I said about him, it wasn't true. Even through everything, he was my dad. And I'm sorry about what I said about you looking out for me because of him, I had no right, Sir." Sheppard didn't say anything as he turned and hurried up the stairs two at a time. I collected my thoughts as I hurried up them after him. I came to the control room and saw McKay, Weir, Grodin and Sheppard standing around one of the control panels.

"It didn't look like the phantoms the Wraith make you see, but I can see how the Athosian's would be confused."

"What did it look like?" Weir asked, it seemed none of them had noticed my presence yet.

"It looked like a…"

"Darkness," Grodin said, cutting off Sheppard, "It surrounded the naquadah generator and started to grow like it was feeding off the energy."

"When you shut it down, the whole…whatever it was, it just went away." Sheppard explained to them, though it sounded exactly the same as my own encounter. McKay stepped forwards with a power bar.

"If this thing feeds on energy, we could be in big trouble, and when I say "we", I mean "you," because I wont actually be around for much longer."

"So we need to figure out exactly what it is and what to do about it." At this point I stepped forwards and cleared my throat.

"Well, I can tell you that the exact same thing happened to me just like Dr. Grodin and Major Sheppard." Everyone finally acknowledged my presence as I held my hands behind my back with my chin held high. "When I saw the smoke, it was in the science lab, feeding off the generator, it's why the power was going on and off randomly. Once all the power was gone the thing went for the only energy left in the area…me. I don't think it was bothered by me firing at it, it just wanted more energy and it chased me, until I ran into Major Sheppard and it had disappeared." Weir stared at me for a few seconds; I could tell from her expression that she was feeling guilty about sending me to Beckett because everyone thought I was having a mental breakdown.

"How about if we start shutting off all the generators?" she looked to McKay as he rolled his eyes, "As the good Lieutenant just said, people give off energy, you start taking away the naquadah generators—"

"And it will come after us," Weir sighed.

"Well, I only know one thing for sure, and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad." McKay murmured as Grodin gave him a glare.

"Okay, we keep the power on. Grodin, figure out a way to detect it, and in the meantime, Major, establish a constant surveillance on all the generators. If one of them is targeted, we'll shut it down remotely. I mean, hopefully we can keep this…thing busy until we figure out a way to get rid of it." Weir hit her radio as she began to address the rest of Atlantis. "Attention, everyone. This is Weir. For the time being, we need you all to remain in your quarters unless otherwise instructed. If you see anything out of the—"

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" a voice cut into Weirs announcement. I frowned as I recognized the voice as Jinto.

"Jinto?" Sheppard said into his radio.

"Major Sheppard!" he replied with relief.

"Are you okay?" Weir asked him.

"I'm scared," came Jinto's timid reply.

"Where are you?" Sheppard asked him.

"I don't know." He replied.

"Jinto start from the beginning. Tell us how you got to where you are." Weir said as there was a few seconds silence, and then Jinto spoke again.

"I was in the hall outside my quarters." Without anyone saying anything we all rushed off to the living quarters.

We arrived at Jinto and Halling's quarters where Teyla and Halling joined us as I hung back with the two Athosian's as the rest continued on. Sheppard was asking Jinto where he went as he led us to a door that opened, it was a small compartment and when McKay and Sheppard stepped inside a panel opened up that had a glowing map of the whole city. Jinto admitted to touching the map but he couldn't remember what part he touched, McKay announced that they had a weird energy reading from one section as Sheppard touched it. The door closed on them as Weir rushed forwards and waved her hand over the panel. The doors opened again and she frowned back at us when the room was full of crates from Earth.

"It has to be a transporter," I said from Halling's side. Weir nodded in agreement to me as Sheppard's voice crackled through the radio.

"We've got Jinto, he's alright." I see Halling let out the breath he had been holding as he smiles down at Teyla. It was a few minutes later when the doors opened and Jinto came running out and ran into Halling's arms. I stood back as I watched the father and son reunite as they headed off to their quarters, Jinto was rambling on about how scared and sorry he was.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed! So we found out a bit more as to why Mia and Colonel Sumner fell out all those years ago, though the full story will be revealed in time. Again don't yell at me if some of the medical stuff was wrong, I'm just going off common sense and all that. Though next chapter has a bit more comedy from McKay that we all know and love, and bickering between our Mia and McKay, it's pretty comical if i do say so myself. Let me know what you all think, I love hearing your comments! See you next week!

 **Reply's**

 **Adela** \- Well, we'll have to see whether she get's put into his team or not, shall we? ;)

 **Guest** \- Thank you so much! They won't always be in the background no, there will be a lot more interactions from this chapter on!

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you, I don't like just giving up all my characters personality in one chapter, I like to spread it out so that they are more relatable. Of course there will be more John and Mia, originally I wasn't going to have them get together until Season 2 but I couldn't wait that long, so they will be together at some point in Season 1, but I'm not telling you ;) And thank you for saying that she's a good match for him, most John/Oc stories I read he always gets with a scientist, which isn't as exciting as he needs someone who can kick his ass from time to time.

 **parmakai66** \- Thank you! Yes she is sassy, and she doesn't stop being sassy haha

 **Vadercat** \- I wouldn't call her an overachiever, more like she knows that she is kind of smart but she doesn't like to show it, unlike McKay. Truuuuuuuust me, there is a lot of bickering between the two later in the season about her intelligence about certain things.

Again thanks and don't forget to please leave me a little note!


	5. Genesis - Chapter 5

Hi everyone! Thanks for all your support and kind words. This chapter is out pretty early as I wouldn't be able to do it later but here you go, enjoy!

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

All of the Military personnel were in this big meeting room; I was leaning back on the wall with Ford as Major Sheppard debriefed everyone on the situation that was happening. We were being split up into teams of two, Ford had been paired up with Sergeant Stackhouse and I was with Sergeant Benson. Ford was lucky and got to patrol one of the science labs just in case the entity came for the generator as Grodin still hadn't come up with anything to track the entity yet. Benson and myself? We get to guard the jumper bay.

We headed over to the jumper bay as we took up our positions on each side of the large doors. We basically waited around for nothing until there was chatter over the radio. Apparently the entity was heading to where Ford and Stackhouse were, Benson and I glanced at each other as we listened to Ford try and open the door to get out of the corridor they were in. My palms were beginning to sweat from the nerves I was feeling, I hoped with every fiber of my being that he was able to get out. I jumped violently when I heard Ford's scream through the radio. I wanted to run to where he was but I knew I couldn't leave my station. I'd have to wait until I was relieved to go and see him. The chatter from the radio had quieted down as Benson and I continued to stand around waiting for nothing to happen. It was finally three hours later when our relief came; as soon as they nodded to me I was sprinting down the halls and jumping down flights of staircases. My combat boots slapped against the flooring as I skidded around a corner and ran straight into Dr. Weir. She grasped my by the upper arms to stop us from falling to the floor as I stepped back, "Sorry Dr. Weir, I was just—"

"I understand," she said with a small smile, "He's awake now if you wanted to know."

"Thank you," I said as I saluted her and walked swiftly into the infirmary. I located Ford instantly as I walked up to him as he pulled off the oxygen mask he had on his face. "Hey," he said hoarsely to me.

"Hi," I said softly as I sat down in the empty chair next to his bed, I could see his eyes glassy and drooping and I expected he had just woken up from either a nap or from the whole ordeal, but Beckett was nowhere to be seen so I assumed Ford had taken a nap. "How do you feel?" I asked him. Ford chuckled.

"Like I was struck by lightening." He said as I rolled my eyes.

"And how would you know what that feels like?" I raised a brow as Ford grinned at me.

"Well, I do now." If he weren't injured I'd smack him over the back of the head.

"You're such a dumbass," I scoffed at him. Ford seemed to snuggle into the bed.

"Yeah well, least I get to be off duty for a few days."

"Lazy bastard," I sneered at him, his eyes were shut but a goofy grin came over his face. Seeing Ford in a bed with his eyes closed made me realize that I hadn't actually slept in twenty-four hours. I suddenly felt all of the energy drain from my body as my eyes began to droop.

"Mia," Ford's voice made me jump slightly as my eyes shot open, "Go get some rest, in your own bed." He said sternly. I shook my head and rubbed my face.

"No, I—I'm staying here with you." I retorted as Ford sighed.

"Mia I'll be fine, Harris and Fields are stationed outside." I shook my head.

"Ford, I'm staying. If I loose you…I don't have anyone else." I said softly to him. Ford finally seemed to understand as he nodded and relaxed into the bed once more. His eyes shut slowly as I hunched down in the seat as I placed the P-90 across my lap with my hands resting over it. My eyes lingered on the machine that showed Ford's heartbeat as the general rhythm slowly lulled me to sleep.

A hand on my shoulder jolted me from my sleep as I gasped. I looked around quickly and saw Ford still asleep peacefully; I glanced over my shoulder and saw Teyla standing there with a smile on her face. "Teyla," I said in shock, "You scared me." I rubbed my eyes from sleep as I stretched my arms.

"I am sorry," she began, "I came to check on Lieutenant Ford and saw you asleep, I was hoping I could persuade you to go to your own quarters and rest." She gave me a kind smile as I sighed.

"I guess I should, this chair isn't as comfortable as it looks." I smirked as Teyla helped me up, as I was still a little dazed from the sleep.

We dropped off my vest and P-90 at the armory as we took a slow walk to the living quarters. "You are quiet close to Lieutenant Ford," Teyla said suddenly, I glanced over at her as I cracked my knuckles.

"Yeah, we are." I admitted to her as we came to my quarters.

"Are you, lovers?" she asked hesitantly. I stared at her with wide eyes as I spluttered and barked out a laugh.

"Oh god no. We are so far from that!" I laughed as Teyla gave me a strange look.

"I do not understand?" Once I settled down I smiled at her.

"Ford and I grew up together, he's basically a brother to me, me and him dating would just be plain weird." I said as she finally realized what I had said.

"Oh," she said softly as she smiled again. She turned and went to walk away as I called out to her.

"Why'd you want to know?" she stopped and glanced over her shoulder at me.

"It wasn't I who wanted to know." She replied as she carried off down the corridor. And left me standing outside of my room with a big question mark over my head.

* * *

The next day had seen the entity finally gone, after one failed attempt at getting the entity back into the capsule it had been sealed in Teyla had mentioned that maybe it didn't want to be in Atlantis. McKay had then used a generator to lure the entity into the gate room and coax it to go through the gate, from what I had heard, it wasn't going through and McKay had used the shield to throw the generator through the gate and the entity followed suit. McKay had been labeled a hero for two days, until all the excitement had died down, much to his displeasure. And then a few days after the incident, I had heard of a situation regarding Major Sheppard and some sort of bug that attached itself to his neck, well, from what Ford had told me anyway. He had been spending all of his time with Major Sheppard in the infirmary or out on missions with Teyla and Rodney. But through the grapevine I had heard Dr. Weir was hesitant sending out just three team members, though it was really none of my concern, seeing as I still hadn't been placed on a team yet, I was getting anxious just sitting around everyday doing nothing that I was contemplating taking Dr. Weir up on her offer to choose what team I wanted to be on.

I was walking up to the control room and saw Grodin sitting at a console typing away at a laptop. "Hey," I announced my presence as Peter looked up at me. "I was looking for Dr. Weir." I nodded to her empty office that I could see from here as Peter looked over his shoulder and nodded at the briefing room.

"She's having a meeting with Major Sheppard's team."

"Is he back on active duty?" I asked. Peter shook his head.

"No, he's not. It's just Teyla, Ford and Rodney in there."

"Okay, thanks," I said as I headed for the stairs.

"Wait, Lieutenant!" I heard Peter's voice call out. I stopped and turned. "I just received a message from Dr. Weir, she'd like to see you in the meeting room." My head went from Peter over to the briefing room, I frowned in confusion as I thanked him and walked to the briefing room. The door opened automatically as I looked around at the faces staring at me. Teyla had a soft smile on her features like she always did, McKay looked annoyed and Ford had his little child grin on his face.

"Lieutenant, thank you for joining us." Weir said as she gestured to a chair. I walked over to it hesitantly and sat down.

"As you know, Major Sheppard is still off active duty for another few days at least while he heals from his injury." Weir said to me. I nodded to her as she continued, "And while he's out I have sent his team on a few missions but it does make me nervous knowing that there is only three of them."

Oh, I can totally see where this is going.

"Lieutenant, I'd like to ask you if you'd be Major Sheppard's replacement, just until he recovers." She asked with a smile. I felt my jaw slack a little.

"Uh," I stuttered as I glanced over at Ford, he still had the stupid goofy grin on his face as I rolled my eyes at him, I turned my gaze back to Dr. Weir. "Wouldn't you want someone with a higher rank?" I asked her as she looked down at her clasped hands and then back up at me.

"I couldn't think of anyone else that I or Major Sheppard would trust with his team."

"Plus, you used to be a Major anyway." There was a deafening silence in the room as I turned my head slowly to glare at Ford. His eyes widened as he saw my glare as he looked down at the table.

"Wait," McKay butted in, "You," he pointed a finger at me, "You used to be a Major?" he asked as I cleared my throat as Ford met my eyes once more but looked away hastily.

"Now is not the time, Rodney," Weir said as she looked at me once more. "The choice is yours." She said to me as she rose from her chair. "The team has a mission in three hours, you have until then to decide." She said finally as she left the room. It was silent for a few seconds before McKay spoke again.

"You were a Major?" he repeated as I glared at him as I pushed the chair out with my legs and left the room.

* * *

I walked around for at least an hour until I found myself walking into the infirmary, I found the Major in one of the beds at the back of the room. He had his eyes closed; he looked peaceful as I stopped at the edge of the bed. I could see the large white bandage over the left side of his neck.

"You goin' to ask me a question or continue staring?" I heard him mutter as his eyes opened slowly as I blinked rapidly and looked away.

"Sorry, Sir." I apologized as I took a step back from the bed.

"It's alright, it's pretty fascinating huh. A giant bug sucking the life out of you." He said hoarsely as he tried some humor out.

"Yeah, I heard about your bug encounter." It was quiet between us for a minute before he spoke again.

"Now, I may be doped up on as much painkillers as I can get my hands on, but I'm pretty sure you're here for another reason then staring at my pretty face." He smirked as I felt myself smile as his humor. I felt my face turn to a sour expression as Sheppard went, "Ah," in a realization. "By the look on your face, I'm guessing Dr. Weir asked you to lead my team for the mission."

"Major, I'm not qualified to lead a team." I admitted to him, he pulled a face at me. "You'll do fine, apparently you used to be a Major." He said matter-of-factly. My eyes widened as I stared at him.

"What? How did you? —"

"McKay came by with your file in his hand and told me. I scolded him like a child if you wanted to know." He said smugly as I sighed. It seemed some of my secrets were rising to the surface. Secrets that I didn't want anyone to know about, I wouldn't be able to put off not telling them for long. Ford was the only one who I told personally and if I had to guess, Dr. Weir would know why I had been demoted from Major to Lieutenant, and I really wanted to keep it that way.

"It's only for one mission, Lieutenant. By next week I'll be good as new," he gave me a boyish grin as I stood there contemplating it. After a minute or so I sighed heavily.

"Fine, I'll do it." He smiled at me as he nestled back down into his bed.

"Good, now I can rest easy. And tell McKay that he owes me a beer."

"You bet on me?" I said with a brow raised in shock.

"Well yeah," he said as he closed his eyes. I found myself smiling at him as I shook my head in laughter and turned on my heel.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Grodin's voice came over the comms saying that the team needed to gear up and be ready in half an hour for the mission. I was near the armory when I heard McKay and Ford bickering like old women.

"I'm telling you McKay, she'll be here." Ford said, defensive.

"Oh please, she's a girl, she's probably broken a nail and is getting a manicure as we speak. Honestly, I can't believe Elizabeth would put a kid in charge of a team as highly respected as ours." I came around the corner and cleared my throat.

McKay looked like a deer in headlights as I crossed my arms over my chest. Ford grinned at me as Teyla laughed and looked in McKay's direction. I walked over to McKay.

"For your information, I bite my nails so they are never long enough to break and, as a matter of fact, this team is only respected because of Major Sheppard—" Ford cleared his throat, "And Ford,"

McKay started spluttering, "I—I didn't say…"

"Now, I am going to be team leader on this mission while Major Sheppard is off duty. And I expect total co-operation from all of my team members, if you have a problem with that, come and talk to me about it. Don't go bitching about me to my closest friend cause I will severely hurt you, got that McKay?" He nodded his head violently. "And seeing as you read my file—"

"Rodney," Teyla scolded.

"I assume you read how many kills I had in my first tour of Afghanistan? So please, Dr. McKay, don't patronize me on how to lead a team, as you so stunningly put it, I used to be a Major once. But yes, I was demoted. And unfortunately it doesn't say why, I'll let that be a mystery." If I wasn't trying to be so serious I would have laughed at the face McKay was making, he literally looked like he wanted to pee his pants. "Gear up." I hissed as I walked over to the vest rack and zipped up, then I clipped the p90 to my chest. McKay and Teyla left shortly after the former with his tail between his legs.

I had just strapped my knife to my side when Ford came over to me with a dark cap; he held it out to me as I took it, "What's this for?" I glanced up and met his eyes as he shrugged.

"It's my lucky cap, I thought you should have it for your first mission as team leader." I felt the sides of my mouth pull up into a grin as I shoved it onto my head and pulled my ponytail through the hole in the back. I gave Ford a grin as he smiled back at me as we left the armory.

We met Teyla and McKay at the control room as the gate was being dialed up, Ford and I walked up to the gate as Teyla and McKay joined us. As the Stargate connected I leaned over to Ford, "The last time I went through the gate, I lost dad." I looked over at Ford as he set his mouth into a thin line. I looked back at the rippling blue surface as I frowned ever so slightly and started marching towards the gate.

On the other side of the gate we stepped out into a beautiful planet, the grass was long and rolling hills could be seen in the distance. On the way to the gate back on Atlantis Ford had told me that we were returning to this planet, the team had come two days ago to trade, but the village needed to consult with their elders and told them to return in two days time, and here we are. "The village is just beyond the forest," Teyla announced to me as the Stargate shut down behind us.

"How long?" I asked as I turned to her, she shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"Last time it was an fifteen minute walk."

"Last time it was raining," McKay whined from the other side of Teyla. I felt myself smiling.

"Well, we best get going then."

We were walking in a group through the forest, Ford and McKay were a few paces ahead of Teyla and I as we hung back slightly. "Have you traded with this planet before?" I asked her as I ripped a leaf off a nearby branch as I passed it, the trees in the forest were ginormous but the branches started really low.

"On a few occasions," she said softly as she glanced around the forest, "But for reasons I cannot explain, this visit feels different than before." I glanced over at her. I could see her brow crease in worry as I suddenly got an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. We walked for a few more minutes before something made me halt in my steps, a gust of wind had brought over a few smells. The distinctive smell was the scent of smoke, and a lot of it. Ford and McKay were a few meters ahead and I didn't want to risk calling out to them and alerting anyone who was around so I hit my radio.

"Ford stop," I ordered as I saw him halter and put his arm out to McKay. Teyla and I rushed over to the two men as I unclipped my p90 and held it to my chest.

"What is it?" McKay hissed at me.

"I can smell smoke, and not the happy campfire kind," I hissed back as I saw the three of them start sniffing the air, if not for the situation at hand I might have laughed. "Is the village far?" I looked back at Teyla as she shook her head and nodded her head in front of us.

"It is just beyond the tree line." I squinted and saw the forest did indeed end. I thought for a few seconds before I looked to the three of them.

"Alright, we'll go check out the village, as much as it pains me to say this, they could have been attacked by the Wraith, so be quiet and vigilant. I'll take point," I looked to Ford, "Ford on our six," he nodded to me as McKay and Teyla walked behind me as I started walking.

* * *

So a little bit of a cliffhanger here! So we'll be having a bit more action in the next chapter and see some of badass Mia's skills! Hope you all enjoyed and don't forget to tell me what you thought about the chapter!

 **Reply's**

 **parmakai66** \- Yeah she has a massive chip, but it's not as bad further into the story. I thought about Sheppard telling her off or something but then I was also like, he breaks the rules and doesn't really go by them, and he had it coming. Plus he has a soft spot for her haha sorry you were bummed and sorry for leaving a little cliffy.

 **Adela** \- Oh man it is great, the Sanctuary episode is already written and I won't spoil anything but jealousy is in the air, you will find out hopefully next chapter my friend!

Thanks for the reviews and alerts! Don't forget to please drop me a review on what you thought!


	6. Genesis - Chapter 6

**Hi guys! Another Thursday yay! Hope you all enjoy this chapter, we've got some asskicking in this one and we also find out what team that Mia is going to be on, finally! As always thank you all for your kind words and alerts! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

I emerged from the forest into what would be called a ghost town, there was no sound in the village, and everyone was gone. Buildings were still on fire as I quickly scoped out the area, I couldn't see any Wraith as I motioned for the three of them to follow as we entered the village. It was a sad site to behold, the charred buildings and empty streets.

"The entire village was culled," I heard Teyla whisper to herself as we cautiously walked passed the buildings, I was so nervous that a Wraith was going to jump out of a building any second I was sure the other three could feel my nerves.

"We'll check for any survivors, it doesn't seem that the Wraith are here." We stopped in what seemed to be the center of town as I saw Ford surveying the area with his eyes.

"I cannot believe that this happened in a matter of days," Teyla said sadly as she sighed. I turned to the three of them once more.

"Teyla, you take McKay and search the north part of the village. Ford, you take the south and I'll take the East. If you find something use the radio. Meet back in twenty," Ford and Teyla both nodded to me as they walked off to their respective destinations.

Squaring my shoulders I headed off towards the east side of the village to start my search.

I looked down at my watch; I had a few minutes before we were going to meet back at the village center as I glanced inside a charred building. I saw a few burnt bodies as I felt my breakfast return as I swallowed hard. There was no one here anymore, everyone was either dead or taken, I turned on my heel and began making my way back to the center.

" _Mia,"_ came over the radio, it was Teyla. I hit the button.

"Go ahead," I said into the radio.

" _I should inform you that I have just begun to sense the Wraith nearby. I think we should regroup and leave this planet before they discover us._ " I felt my blood run cold as I took a deep breath.

"Affirmative, regroup at the edge of the forest. Ford?"

" _Yes ma'am,"_ came his voice as I took off at a run, I was the furthest away from the three of them and would take me longer to get back to them.

It was then that I heard the familiar sound of a Wraith dart whizzing overhead; I stopped in my tracks and looked up as the long and pointed aircraft flew overhead, no doubt spotting me.

"Shit," I muttered as I began to run faster, I hit my radio, "A dart just flew over me, I'm pretty sure he spotted me." I didn't hear their reply's as the dart was suddenly back, it flew straight ahead of me and I skidded to a stop when the white beam of light shone down and five Wraiths stood before me.

"Shit!" I cried as I aimed the gun and let loose my bullets. I managed to take two of them out before they started shooting at me with their stunners. I sidestepped to an alcove as I hit the radio again, "Five Wraith just beamed down from the dart, I got two."

I spun out as I killed another wraith and hid back behind the wall. Suddenly I heard another p90 as I spun out again and killed the last remaining two with Ford. He ran over to me as I met him halfway, "You okay?" he asked me as I nodded.

"We have to hurry," I said as he nodded as we took off at a run to the forest where we came from.

" _Mia, Rodney and I have made it to the forest tree line but we have Wraith enclosing on our position."_ I heard Teyla's desperate voice in my ear. I made a quick decision.

"Get back to the gate, Ford and I will meet you there and take out the Wraith tracking you."

" _Understood,"_ She replied back as Ford and I sped up our pace.

We reached the tree line and saw four Wraith lying in wait, we quickly dispatched them as we dashed into the forest, in the far off distance we could vaguely hear gunfire that I assumed was from Teyla and McKay.

" _Lieutenant this is McKay!"_ McKay yelled into the earpiece.

"What's happening?" I yelled into it as I jumped over a fallen tree.

" _Teyla and I are under heavy fire! We can't stay here without being killed!"_

I glanced over at Ford, he nodded to me as if he knew what I was thinking already. "McKay dial Atlantis, don't wait for Ford and I. Get yourselves to safety, we'll follow." I didn't get a reply as I expected them to be dialing the gate and getting through, at least, I hope they were getting through.

Ford and I slowed our pace when we reached the Stargate, and as I expected it was heavily guarded. Eight wraiths were standing around the Stargate and DHD, each with a weapon and on a vigilant guard. Ford and I took positions behind two wide trees as suddenly the Stargate activated, but nothing was coming through and none were going through. I glanced over at Ford, and he shrugged his shoulders. My mind suddenly flashbacked to when I heard about Ford's jumper getting stuck in the Stargate, it could only stay open for thirty-eight minutes before it shut down. And I remember Teyla telling me something about how the Wraith would dial out so no one could escape using the Stargate when the worlds were getting culled. I cursed in my head as I looked over at Ford and whistled quietly for his attention. His eyes snapped to me.

"They know we're still on the planet, they dialed out so we can't use the gate." I saw his eyebrows rise in understanding.

"What do we do?" he hissed to me as I tapped my watch.

"We wait thirty six minutes, we attack and hopefully take them all out just as the gate deactivates." Ford agreed with the plan as we stood in silence. Every so often I would glance around the wide tree and see the Wraith unmoving, occasionally one would move around to another spot but they were staying very close to the Stargate and DHD.

* * *

For the whole thirty six minutes I was planning on how I could incapacitate all of them in under two minutes, my best bet would be to catch them by surprise, they obviously didn't know that we were here watching them otherwise they'd be shooting at us. I checked my vest and found two grenades; they would be useful as a distraction. I checked my ammo; I had what was left in the p90 then one more in my vest. I still had my sidearm on my leg and my knife so if worst came to worst I had them. I glanced down at my watch; it was coming up on the thirty-six minute mark. I looked over at Ford as he glanced up from his own watch and nodded at me. I grabbed the first grenade as I pulled the pin, stepped out from behind the tree and threw it as far as I could throw. It exploded; the Wraith started moving towards the far left as I quickly pulled out the last grenade and lobbed it to the far right side. It exploded as they turned to the right and started firing into the trees, not knowing that Ford and I were coming up behind them. We emerged from the trees and let it rain bullets into them. They were so busy with trying to find us that it took them a while to realize it had been a diversion.

I took the left side and Ford took the right as we cornered them as they started dropping like flies, suddenly my p90 was out of ammo and when I didn't fire at them they took advantage of it and began firing their stunners at me. I didn't have time to reload the p90 as I dropped and rolled to the side, pulling out my sidearm and using that. I heard the gate finally deactivate as I spun my head round to Ford, he only had one Wraith left. "Ford!" I yelled to him, "Dial the gate now before they do!" I screamed as I watched him run to the DHD. I could hear the chevrons being locked as my sidearm ran out of bullets. There were two wraith left as I threw the gun to the side. I ripped my knife out from behind me as I threw it with precision and it hit one Wraith straight in the face. He dropped to the floor as I ran over to him, dodging the last wraith's stunner as I could hear Ford in the background.

"This is Lieutenant Ford, lower the shield we're under fire!" he yelled into his radio. I reached the wraith with the knife in his face as I pulled it out and lunged for the last wraith. It was a stupid move by me, letting myself be wide open, the Wraith smacked me away like a fly as I hit a nearby tree, my head rattled as I lost my vision for a split second before I shook it away and stood back up. He brought the stunner down as I smacked his arm away and in one quick motion I brought the knife across his throat as blood spurted onto me as he fell to the ground dead. I stumbled back, exhausted.

"Mia!" Ford yelled. I spun around and saw what he was looking at. A wraith dart was heading for us, either to drop more wraiths down or beam us up. It was drawing closer as I motioned for Ford to start running for the gate.

"Go, go!" I screamed as I dropped the knife and sprinted for the gate. Ford dived through the gate a few seconds before I reached it. The dart was so close to me as it started beaming, I pushed my legs harder as I jumped and dived into the gate, the beam just inches from me…

* * *

I came flying through the gate and met the ground harshly. "Raise the shield!" I heard Weir yell as I finally relaxed. I let out a breath as I rolled over onto my back, suddenly medical staff surrounded me and Beckett came into my vision.

"Lieutenant, is this your blood?"

"Teyla and McKay?" I mumbled out, the hit from the wraith finally catching up with me.

"I am here," I heard Teyla's voice, I let my head roll to the side and spotted Teyla smiling softly at me. I could feel my vision slipping as I heard Ford's voice.

"Doc, a wraith threw her into a tree, I saw it, she landed on her head."

"Dammit, she's probably got a concussion." I heard Beckett say as I shook my head.

"No I don't, I'm perfectly fine." I tried to get up but a wave of dizziness washed over me. Apparently Dr. Beckett saw my mood change.

"We need to get her under a scanner, now." I heard him say. I felt myself be lifted and put onto a soft mattress and suddenly we were flying through the corridors of Atlantis. My eyes were drooping. "Lieutenant, don't go to sleep on me." Beckett ordered.

"Sorry Doc, no can do." I replied as I finally slipped into the darkness.

When I awoke, what I assumed was a few hours later, my head was throbbing and my eyes stung from the harsh fluorescent lighting. I made a groaning sound in the back of my throat as I rolled my head to the side. "How're you feeling?" Teyla asked as she smiled at me from the chair she was seated in. I lifted the hand that didn't have the IV drip in and rubbed my eyes.

"Like I was thrown into a tree and landed on my head…oh wait, that did happen." I chuckled as Teyla grinned at my humor. She looked over her shoulder as Dr. Beckett appeared with a smile on his face.

"Good to see you awake Lieutenant." He looked at the screen for a second then back down at me.

"What's the verdict doc?" a new voice joined us, I looked to the other side and saw Ford and Major Sheppard walk up to my bed.

"Well, our good Lieutenant here suffered a mild concussion, but she's in good health, there is minimal swelling that should go down in a day or two but I say she'll be fit for duty in three days. As long as you get plenty of rest and no strenuous activity."

I pressed my lips into a firm line as I pouted at Beckett, he smiled down at me as he placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. He walked off and left the four of us. I glanced over at Sheppard.

"You here to tell me how much I sucked on my first mission, Sir?" Sheppard stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"On the contrary," Teyla said from the other side, "Myself, Dr. McKay and Lieutenant Ford all think you did a very good job under the circumstances." I gave her a smile as I rolled my head over to look at Sheppard.

"What Teyla said."

"You should have seen her, Sir. She was like a ninja; she took out all these Wraith with her combat moves." Ford said with a bright grin on his face as I shook my head at him.

"If it makes you feel any better, McKay said you did a good job." Sheppard said as I rolled my eyes at him.

"I highly doubt he said that, Sir."

"He did, wrote it in his report." He defended as I frowned.

"Wait, he's already written the report? How long have I been out?" I asked all three of them.

"Oh, the whole night," Sheppard looked down at his watch, "It is now eight in the morning and we are late for our mission." He announced as Teyla stood. She leant down and touched my forehead with her own.

"Get some rest, Lieutenant," Sheppard said as Ford and Teyla walked out of the infirmary, "You're going to need it for when you go back on active duty, we have a lot of mission's to get though." Sheppard said with a half smirk as he turned on his heel, I frowned as I called out.

"Wait! Does that mean I'm on your team?"

"What do you think?" he glanced over his shoulder as he left the infirmary. I watched him leave, Major Sheppard was an odd person, he never acted like the Military Commander, he was more like a big kid, just like Ford. But I'm guessing when the situation arose he would become more serious, as I had seen when I had been captured by the Wraith.

Around an hour later a nurse brought me breakfast, I was already inhaling it before she had even set it down on the bed, not realizing how hungry I had actually been. And then a few hours after that Beckett came and saw me, he checked my vitals and told me that I was free to go, but I wasn't allowed to do any physical activities for the next three days until the swelling had all gone down and he cleared me for active duty. A nurse had brought me some baggy clothes from my room and I relished in the fact that I didn't have to do anything for the next three days. I could explore the city, or just lie in bed and sleep. I pulled the baggy grey shirt over my head and pulled on the black leggings as I folded the scrubs and placed them on the bed. I stepped out from behind the curtain as Beckett came over, "Now remember…"

"No physical activities and lots of sleep," I finished for him as I smiled sweetly at him. He chortled at me.

"Alright, off you go lass." He nudged me slightly as I walked out of the infirmary.

I slept for the remainder of the day, and my dreams had been filled with Wraith and Ford dying on the planet. I had awoken three times from my own death happening, now I sat at my desk with the bright computer screen glaring at me. I needed to write my mission report but I couldn't get my fingers to move, I didn't want to have to write about how I got my concussion, having to admit that I made a stupid move was against every fiber of my being. I guess I inherited that trait from my dad too. After sucking in a deep breath and beating down my pride I began typing away what happened on MX4-229. When I arrived to the concussion part my fingers locked up, but I breathed through it and typed out what happened, my own shame and anger rising to the surface about what had happened. I felt weak, I felt like I needed to prove to myself that I could fight, I had been in scarier situations and come out on top. But for some reason, I screwed up. And as bad as it is for me to say this, I never screw up, not when I built my tank or when I built a rail gun. I sighed, I sounded like Rodney McKay.

I finished my report, ending with Ford and I getting through the gate as I hit send and slammed the screen down. I was frustrated with myself, and I knew the only way to fix it would be to train and get stronger. I looked down at my watch, it had just gone past nine at night as I sprung up from my chair and changed into my black sports bra and black shorts, I pulled my hair into a high ponytail as I grabbed a small towel and headed out of my room.

* * *

I arrived at the gym without seeing anyone as I threw down the towel and stretched, I knew I was going against Dr. Beckett's orders but I wouldn't strain myself too hard. Hanging from the ceiling was a cable wire with a hook on the end; one of the sergeants had installed it so it was easy to attach the punching bag. I pulled on the thick wire as I clipped on the punching bag, I then walked to the wall where I pulled on the wire until the bag was the perfect level in the air and tied it up so it would stay there. I cracked my knuckles as I began hitting the bag.

I did four quick hits, then spun and used my elbow and dug it into the bag, spinning back around and using the momentum on the same arm I elbowed it with, I plowed it into the bag as it rocked back and forward. Next I kicked with my left leg as it smacked against the leather, spinning on my foot I did a roundhouse kick, placing it back on the floor I used all the force I could muster and kicked it head on. The bag flew back as I dodged out of the way; I grabbed it so I could stop it from rocking as I continued on.

I didn't keep track of how long I had been punching the damn thing; all I could think of was that damn Wraith that threw me into the tree and my anger spurred me on. I did however; notice that my head started throbbing more painfully with every minute that passed. But I still didn't stop. The sweat was pouring off me in rivers as my breath was so harsh and ragged I sounded like a chain smoker. As I pulled my fist back to hit the punching bag once more a wave of dizziness washed over me, I felt so nauseous that I collapsed onto my knees and fell onto my hands, I was on all fours as I closed my eyes and tried to hold the vomit in. Maybe working out hadn't been a good idea after all. Behind me I heard the gym door slide open.

"Lieutenant?" It was Major Sheppard, I internally groaned as I pushed myself back onto my legs. I glanced over my shoulder at him as I panted for breath. He was dressed in track pants and a black shirt, like he had come to work out himself. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted at me. I looked back to the punching bag as I frowned at it.

"I'm training. I won't let the Wraith catch me off guard again," I grumbled as I pushed myself up onto my legs. As soon as I was up I was hit by another wave of nausea and dizziness that my vision went black as I felt myself falling through the air.

When I opened my eyes I was being carried through the corridors of Atlantis, my head was resting on a chest I assumed to be Major Sheppard. His grip was tight on my shoulder and leg as I glanced up at him from under my eyelashes. "Where are we going?" I mumbled to him, shocked at how weak my voice sounded.

"The infirmary."

"Why?" I protested.

"Because you passed out, Lieutenant. You've still got a concussion and you were doing high physical training."

"I'm fine," I defended. He didn't reply to me, he just had a permanent frown on his face as we entered the infirmary.

* * *

 **Yeah so Mia is a bit stupid when it comes to stuff like this. I'm trying to get this all done before the power runs out on my laptop (my charger broke) I'm on 1% right now agh! Thank you all again and yay she's on their team! So we'll be getting into the episodes from now on!**

 **Reply's**

 **Adela** \- Yes yes! she is very good for stepping up! Good on her! And she's also on his team now!

 **Guest** **64** \- Thank you, there is more to come but won't be revealed for quiet a while now, for now it'll be focusing more on her relationship with John!

 **Again thanks everyone! And don't forget to tell me what you thought of the chapter! I'd love to hear from you all.**


	7. Genesis - Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! So this week the chapter that your were having was pretty boring and where I cut it off was kind of sudden, plus this whole chapter flows together so I didn't really want to break it up anyway! So you have a double chapter yahoo! Again thank you to everyone who reviewed and alerted, it means the world to me! In this one we finally get to see a John and Mia fluff moment. It's not over the top huge but just a small thing, like him carrying her last chapter *SQUEEE*. Sorry. I just can't wait to start releasing more fluff! Anywhoo enjoy!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

"Doc," Sheppard called out as he lowered me onto the bed. I saw Beckett come around the corner when he spotted me.

"Good lord, what happened?" he rushed over to me.

"Found her in the gym, don't know how long she's been there." He crossed his arms over his chest as he stood back. Beckett reeled back in shock as he looked from Sheppard to me.

"What? What were you doing in there?" he demanded. I sighed.

"I was training."

"Training?" he exclaimed, "I specifically told you no physical activities until I cleared you!"

"I wasn't doing anything too strenuous." I held my hands up.

"Don't listen to her doc," Sheppard butted in, both mine and Beckett's head turned to him, "It was lucky I got there when I did, she passed out when she tried to get up. If I hadn't of caught her she'd be in here for _another_ concussion."

The glare Beckett gave me was one that could have rivaled my dad's, but then, thinking about how my dad would've reacted to finding out I had been training with a concussion, I doubt he would have scolded me. If anything he would have told me to suck it up. Maybe that's why I was so driven to train, because secretly I still didn't want to disappoint my father. He always used to say 'quitters never win'. It's funny how I'm listening to him more then I did when he was alive, ok, maybe not funny but ironic.

In my own little thinking bubble I missed what Beckett had been trying to tell me. "What?" I said when he stared at me, waiting for me to answer him.

"I said I'll need to get you under the scanner to see if you've increased the swelling, are you currently having a headache?"

"Yeah, but it's been constant since I woke up. It only got worse when I was working out," Beckett sighed at me as he made me walk to the scanner; I noticed his hand hovered over my back in case I fell.

"Am I going to die?" I asked Beckett when he came back over with his tablet; Major Sheppard was sat in the chair beside my bed, picking at dirt under his nails.

"No, you're going to be fine. There's no increased swelling but you'll be having a killer headache in the morning, love." He walked over to a cabinet and took out a strip of pills. He strode back over and handed it to me, "Take two tonight before you go to bed and then two in the morning when you wake up. It will help you sleep and reduce the pain tomorrow. But no more late night trainings until I say so?" I smirked at him as I jumped off the bed.

"I promise Dr. Beckett."

"Please, the amount of times you've already been in here Lieutenant, you can start calling me Carson." He gave me a cheeky Scottish grin.

"Alright, I'll call you Carson, and you can stop calling me Lieutenant. Mia will do." Carson patted me on the shoulder as I slid off the bed.

"Now, I want you to go straight to bed, no detours."

"Yes, I will, promise." I said with a grin as he cocked an eyebrow at me.

"You said that last time, and look where we are now."

I shook my head as I felt my cheeks redden, "I will this time." He nodded at me as his eyes glanced up at Major Sheppard.

"Make sure she gets to her room."

"Will do," he replied as we both turned on our heels and left the infirmary.

Major Sheppard walked about four steps in front of me as I followed behind him, I felt like a child that had just been caught with their hand in the sour candy jar. He didn't speak to me the whole time we walked back to my quarters, and I accepted it. I had done a stupid move; I could have given myself a brain hemorrhage or something. We arrived at my quarters as I waved my hand over the device as the door opened, before I took a step into my room Major Sheppard's voice stopped me. "I have your word that you wont be doing anymore training?" he asked as I glanced over my shoulder.

"Yes sir." I uttered as he nodded at me.

"Good. Night Lieutenant." He left as I watched him walk down the corridor.

* * *

I sat in the mess hall the next day, dressed comfortably in my uniform as I pushed my mushed up eggs around my plate. I used my other hand to lean my cheek on it as I clamped my eyes shut. Carson was right, my head was throbbing, and it was a mission for me to even leave my bed this morning. The mess hall was busy this morning; marines were all eating their breakfast before they headed out for their daily missions. And of course I had to wait another three days before I could get out back into the field. While I had been daydreaming someone sat down across from me, setting their own tray down in the process. I glanced up and saw Ford; he broke off a piece of his toast and shoved it into his mouth.

"How's the head?" he asked with his mouth full. I rolled my eyes at him as I pushed my tray away and crossed my arms on the table.

"I feel like it's going to explode." I said to him as he shoveled his scrambled eggs into his large gob.

"Because of your late night training?" his question threw me off guard as I frowned at him as he continued eating.

"What did Sheppard tell you?" I growled at him as he smirked and nodded slowly.

"So it is true," he said triumphantly as I shook my head in confusion.

"What? Is what true?" I asked him as he opened his bottle of water and took a drink. In my anger I reached out and squeezed the bottle as Ford's eyes went wide as water came spurting out of his mouth and bottle. I chuckled as he coughed and wiped his face.

"Now, are you going to tell me?" I raised a brow at him as he screwed the lid back onto his drink.

"That was rude," he pointed a finger at me as I rolled my eyes. "Some lab tech saw Major Sheppard carrying your unconscious ass out of the gym last night. It got around that maybe you had been sparring and he knocked you out." He had his stupid kid grin on his face as I shook my head.

"It wasn't like that," I defended as Ford leaned back in his chair with his arms folded behind his head. "I was training by myself because I felt like a pathetic excuse of a soldier for getting tossed around like a ragdoll that I wanted to train. Apparently working out and having a concussion isn't a good mix, Sheppard walked in just as I passed out and took me to Carson. And voila, I now have a worse headache then I did yesterday." I slumped over the table as I heard Ford chuckle. I raised my head as Ford finished eating his eggs.

" _Major Sheppard please have your team report to the gate room for departure_ ," Chuck's voice came over the intercom. I pushed myself up into an upright position as Ford swallowed down his water.

"I'll see you later Mia." He said to me as he hurried away. I sighed as I realized I was alone once more, I took my own tray to the collection as I left the mess hall. I wondered around the corridors of Atlantis for a while before I found myself back at the infirmary. I found Carson sitting at his desk, and for once the place was empty. He glanced up at me when he saw me and groaned.

"What have you done now love?" he said to me as I leaned against his desk.

"Nothing Carson. I am doing absolutely nothing, just like you said. And now I am bored out of my mind with nothing to do." I gave him a cheerful grin as he pushed his chair back and turned it so that he was facing me.

"How's the head feeling today?" he asked. I gave him a deadpan look.

"I think you already know the answer to that question." Carson gave me a smile. I pushed off the desk as I stretched my arms over my head, "Well, I'm going to go and continue doing nothing for the next two days. See you later," I waved to Carson as he nodded back to me.

* * *

After two days I headed back to the infirmary bright and early, I was already dressed in my uniform, the grey pants, the black boots and my jacket zipped up halfway with the black panels marking me as military. My headaches were long gone and I finally slept through the night without having a nightmare about getting thrown about the planet by the wraith. Carson was walking around with a steaming mug of coffee when he spotted me. "Morning lass." He said as I hopped up on a bed, "How you feeling today?" he asked as he set his mug down and took out his stethoscope.

"Fine like a daisy. Please tell me I can return to active duty." I pleaded with him as he checked me over. It took about ten minutes; once he was done he reached for his tablet and gave me a small smile.

"You are clear to return to active duty, Mia."

"Thank you!" I cried in relief as I jumped off the bed. "Have a good day Carson."

"Aye, you too lass." He said to me as I hurried out of the infirmary.

I made my way up to the control room; I wanted to tell Dr. Weir the good news about me being able to finally return to active duty. I walked up the stairs and across the catwalk as I stopped at the entrance to her office. "Dr. Weir?" I said softly as she looked up from her work, she smiled and stood from her chair.

"Lieutenant, come in," I stepped into the room and she sat back down, "How are you feeling?" she asked as I stopped before her desk with my arms held behind my back. "Much better, in fact I came to inform you that Dr. Beckett has cleared me to return to active duty." I smirked at her as she nodded.

"That is good news." We were silent a few seconds before I spoke again.

"Dr. Weir. Major Sheppard said that I was to be on his team, is that true?" I asked her as she glanced down at her work then back up.

"Yes, I decided you would be best suited for his team. Is there a problem?"

"No ma'am," I said quickly. "I'm just finally glad to actually have a purpose here now." She smiled at me again.

Suddenly the Stargate activated and the alarms started blaring in the control room, Dr. Weir stood from her chair as she left her office, I followed close behind her. We came up beside the technician.

"It's Major Sheppard's I.D.C."

"They've only been gone a few hours," she said as I frowned. The intercom crackles as I heard Major Sheppard's voice come through.

"Atlantis this is Sheppard. We're coming in hot." I could hear the desperation in his voice as I glanced over at Dr. Weir as she nodded to the technician.

"Lower the shield." She hurries over to the balcony as I follow her. Marines run into the control room and ready their weapons as the shield is lowered from the gate. We wait for a few seconds when suddenly wraith stunner beams come shooting through the gate, I watch as a marine dives out of the way from one of the stunners as they hit the back of the gate room. More blasts come soaring through as Dr. Weir and I wait anxiously for the team to come through the gate. It was a few seconds later when the team ran through the gate.

"Raise the shield!" Dr. Weir yells to the technician. I was watching the team as they held their guns up to the Stargate in defense when just as the gate shut down a Wraith stunner came soaring through the gate and hit none other than McKay dead in the face. "Medical team to the gate room!" Dr. Weir shouted behind her as I watched Sheppard and Ford hurry to McKay's side.

A medical team runs into the control room and place McKay on the gurney before wheeling him off to the infirmary. I glance to my right at Dr. Weir as I see a deep frown marring her face; it made me wonder what she was thinking. She seemed to look troubled about something. Surely it couldn't be McKay, a stunner only hit him, and he'll be fine soon.

"Dr. Weir?" I spoke softly to her as he gaze went to mine. "Are you alright?" I asked her as she gave me a tight smile.

"Yes, I'm fine Lieutenant." She turned on her heel and walked off to her office. I followed her with my eyes as she sat down at her desk and clasped her hands together.

I left the control room and headed out to get lunch at the mess hall, it was pretty quiet at this time; most people were busy working and exploring the city. I sat down at a table in the corner of the room as I ate my sandwich in silence. I watched people come and go for a few hours, which was until I saw Ford come running in. His eyes scanned the room hastily until they landed on me. He jogged over to me, seemingly out of breath.

"There you are! Jesus do you know how long I've been looking for you?" he panted as I looked at him confused. "Dr. Weir has called a meeting for our team." He said as I looked at him, I felt my face frown.

"I'm invited?" I questioned him. Ford grinned at me.

"Well yeah, you are apart of the team, remember?" he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I felt the corner of my mouth turn up as I hastily stood from the table and dumped my rubbish in the bin.

Ford and I briskly walked from the mess hall back to the control room, we hurried up the stairs and over to the meeting room. I saw Sheppard and McKay already seated as McKay had his foot up on the table and was rubbing it. They both heard us coming as their heads turned to us. McKay didn't really seem to care and went back to rubbing his foot. Sheppard on the other hand held my gaze. The last time I had seen him he had been escorting me back to my quarters after I had passed out at the gym.

"Lieutenant, how're you feeling?" he asked me as Ford and I stood on the opposite side of the room to the two.

"Better, Sir. Dr. Beckett has approved me to return to active duty." I replied to him. He nodded swiftly as I saw Dr. Weir and Sergeant Bates arrive to the meeting room. The doors close behind them as the two take their seats. Ford and I remain standing.

"Alright let's get started." Weir said.

"Shouldn't we wait for Teyla?" Ford asked from beside me. Weir flicks her gaze to him the back down at the table.

"Teyla wasn't invited." She admitted as I felt myself frown.

"She's a member of my team." Sheppard said.

"She's also an Athosian, sir." Bates said back to him. I was completely lost; I had no idea what this meeting was about. Apparently Teyla wasn't invited because she was Athosian? What happened while I had been out these two days?

"If we've been compromised and every indication suggests that we have—it's almost certain that one of them is responsible."

"We're talking about Teyla," he said, trying to reason with the two.

"I don't like it either Major—"

"Good, then get her on in here."

"The safety of this base and it's personnel are my main concern right now, as it should be yours," I saw her give him a slight glare as he fidgeted in his seat, "The Wraith have shown up on five of the last nine planets your team has visited, and given the fact two of those worlds were unpopulated, we can pretty much assume that they have been alerted to your missions by someone on this base."

Oh, so this is what it was about. One of the Athosian's is a spy for the Wraith. But how would they be giving them information? If they sent out a message every time we went off world wouldn't we detect it?

"If someone on this base was communicating with the Wraiths, then why hasn't Atlantis been attacked?" McKay spoke up, Sheppard pointed at him like he had just said his birthday was today and glanced at Weir.

"Good point."

"Maybe we should just stop using the Stargate indefinitely."

"We can't do that," Sheppard hissed at him. "Why not?" Bates retorted.

"Because we need to power this place."

They all started arguing about how Atlantis was fine running without the Zee. and McKay was defending saying that when the Wraith showed up we'd pretty much be obliterated. It was then Bates said that all non-base personnel would be confined to the south side of the city.

"Are you kidding?" Sheppard cried.

"That's the absolute minimum we should do. If Colonel Sumner was still here—"

"He's not!" Sheppard interrupted as the room went dead. I saw a few gazes went to me, including Sheppard's. I locked gazes with Weir; all I wanted to do now was leave. I think she could probably see it in my eyes as she nodded her head softly as I walked to the doors, I brushed my hand over one of them as it opened and I left the meeting room. Before it shut I heard Weir's commanding voice berating Sheppard.

* * *

I found myself sitting on the railing on one of the balconies near my quarters; there was a light wind as it blew my ponytail in the breeze. I felt silly for leaving the meeting, it's not like they were badmouthing my dad, I guess it was the fact that he had been brought up so abruptly it shocked me and I wasn't sure on how to have dealt with it. I should've just stayed and bared it, not run away like a coward. I heard the door open behind me as I held my breath as to who would come see me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Ford; he gave me a tight smile as he leaned forwards on the railing. We didn't say anything to each other for a few minutes, it was nice and peaceful.

"I'm sure Sheppard didn't mean by what he said." Ford said after a while.

"I know." I replied to him as I climbed off the railing and stood next to Ford. "It caught me by surprise, that's all. It's only been under a month since he died, I'm still coming to terms with it I guess." Ford nodded in understanding as he suddenly got a childish grin on his face.

"McKay and Dr. Zelenka found a roof hatch on top of the jumper bay, Sheppard's taking a jumper out and I was going to go with him. You want to come?" he asked as I glanced over to him, I was going to say yes but from Ford's excitement I didn't want to bring the awkward tension I knew was going to revolve around Sheppard and I. "Thanks Ford, but I'll just stay here." I said to him. Ford nodded and waited a few seconds before he disappeared from the balcony, leaving me alone once more.

The next day saw the Athosian's leaving for the mainland that Major Sheppard and Ford had discovered while flying around the planet in the Puddlejumper. Which now meant that we could resume travelling back through the Stargate. We had an off world mission today, and it would be my first one since being back on active duty. I met up with Ford and Teyla in the armory as we geared up. We were going to a nice lush planet with some ruins by the Stargate; so four scientists were coming with us to start deciphering whatever was on these ruins.

Ford and I both zipped up our tactical vests and strapped our sidearm to our thighs. "Has Major Sheppard spoken to you yet?" Ford asked me as I glanced up at him, Teyla also came over.

"No, why?" I asked him as he shrugged. Teyla spoke from behind me.

"He told me he feels bad for what he said in the meeting. He wishes to apologize to you."

"He doesn't need to be sorry for anything, he didn't do anything wrong. I was just being overly sensitive." I sighed. Ford scoffed.

"I know what that means," he smirked as I frowned at him and punched him in the shoulder playfully.

"You dick." I hissed as he laughed. The three of us left the armory as we headed over to the control room. McKay and Major Sheppard were already here when we approached; Weir came down the stairs as she spoke.

"Anxious to step through the gate again, Major?"

"Yes, I am." He said, smirking.

"We all are," Teyla said as well. Ford and I glanced at each other with our matching caps on our head, we smirked at each other as the gate dialed up. It opened up as my team and the other one full of scientists all walked through the event horizon.

* * *

As I got told the planet was lush and green, it was a nice warm temperature and the sky was an almost clear blue. The ruins were only a short walk from the Stargate as the scientists began setting up their camp with cameras and other sciency stuff. "Marines spread out, Teyla, Ford, Sumner set up a perimeter." Sheppard ordered as we all nodded to him and spread out. I walked just near the tree line, my p-90 clasped in my hands as I scanned my eyes into the woods. I walked up and down the tree line for the next hour, my gaze going from the scientists at the ruins and then back into the trees. I saw Teyla, Ford and Sheppard talking together and then Teyla and Ford walked away from our makeshift base. I wanted to go over and ask Sheppard where they had gone but I decided against it. If it were important they would have told me. The next few minutes were boring as hell; I was just coming back from another trip down the tree line when I heard footsteps behind me, I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to either see Ford or Teyla, returning from wherever they had gone, but to my surprise I saw Sheppard approaching me slowly. He had dark sunglasses covering his eyes and his p-90 was clasped in his hands. I stopped walking, allowing him to meet up with me, my guess was that he was going to apologize about the meeting, seeing as apparently he had been trying to find me before the mission.

"Hi," he said, reaching me. I nodded to him.

"Sir."

He looked a bit uncomfortable about me being so formal with him, but he was my commanding officer. "Look I've been trying to figure out a way to say this—" he was cut off by a weird sound coming from the trees behind me. We both raised our guns and stared into the trees, waiting for anything to jump out at us. At the same time we both spotted the wraith.

"Wraith!" Sheppard yelled as I open fired on the disgusting creatures as they leapt out of the trees. Sheppard did the same next to me as he shouted into his radio, "Back to the gate, now!" I kept firing, dropping about three before I felt a hard yank on my tactical vest. Sheppard was pulling me backwards as I kept firing. Once we got close enough to the marines they cover fired for us so that Sheppard and I could turn and sprint towards the gate. We both ran side by side as we neared the base site, I saw Sheppard glance over his shoulder out of the corner of my eye and the next second he spear tackled me to the ground. I grunted from the force of his tackle and from hitting the hard ground as I heard and saw a stunner fly over where I had just been running seconds ago. Sheppard had thrown his body over mine, I had my back on the ground and he was holding his body over mine. Our faces were inches apart as I could feel his breath on my face.

"How about that for an apology?" he smirked at me as I grinned.

"Accepted." I breathed as he sprung up quickly; he gripped my hand and tugged me up as we started running towards some ruins that could provide shelter. The whole time I was distinctly aware that he was holding my hand. As we reached the ruins we both jumped over them and huddled down on the ground. Our connection broke as I once again open fired on the damned Wraith.

"Where are Teyla and Ford?" I shouted to Sheppard over the roar of the gunfire. "They went off to try and find some natives. Teyla's gone off on her own and Ford can't find her!" I frowned and continued firing. "Move out!" Sheppard yelled. All of the marines and scientists jumped up from wherever they were hiding as they all began running towards the gate.

"We can't leave without them!" I cried as Sheppard gripped my upper arm and forced me to run. Sheppard and I both fire at more Wraiths as we run backwards; just as we are nearing the gate a stunner hits Sheppard in the shoulder. He grunts as he goes down. I fire on the Wraith that had taken him down as I yell over my shoulder, "McKay! Stackhouse! Grab the Major!"

Seeing as Major Sheppard was out that meant I was next in charge. McKay and Stackhouse reached Sheppard as they pulled him up and started dragging him towards the gate.

"What about Teyla and Ford?" McKay cried to me as I killed another two Wraith. "We have to go now McKay!" I yelled as we stepped through the gate.

We arrived on the other side back in Atlantis, "Shut it down! They're right behind us!" I yelled. A gurney came over as the medical team heaved Sheppard onto it as they wheeled him off to the infirmary. Weir walks down the stairs as McKay moves next to me.

"We have to go back," he said, breathless.

"Teyla, Lieutenant Ford?" she asked. McKay pointed to the Stargate.

"Still on the planet. We have to go back now!"

"I'd advise against it. You have Wraith all over the planet," Stackhouse said from my other side.

"We can't just leave them there!" McKay cried out as Weir looked at him in shock. Her gaze then went to me.

"Lieutenant, what do you think?" she asked me as my gaze went from hers to McKay's. As much as I wanted to go back and save Teyla and Ford as soon as we got back to the planet we'd either be killed or taken to a hive ship. Teyla and Ford had an advantage; the Wraith probably didn't even know they were there. By now hopefully once the Wraith leave they'd be able to gate back unharmed.

"We need to be smart about this, we can't go running into a trap if we go back to the planet." I said as Weird nodded.

"Agreed."

Stackhouse, McKay, Weir and myself moved up to the control room, Bates joined us when we arrived. "How many were there?" Weir asked us.

"It's hard to say, most of them were behind the tree line," Stackhouse said to her.

"We're wasting time here. We need to mount a rescue operation." McKay said anxiously. He seemed pretty distraught about Teyla and Ford, I wonder if he was like this when Ford and I were stuck on the planet?

"I am not going to send anyone through that gate until I have all the facts, Doctor. How did Teyla and Lieutenant Ford get separated from you?" she asked the three of us. Seeing as I actually didn't know why they left it turned to Stackhouse.

"They went to check out the area and try to make contact with some of the natives."

"And whose idea was that?" Bates said sarcastically. McKay and I both turned our glares to Bates as a new voice joined us.

"Mine." I turned around and saw Major Sheppard walking up to us. His gaze moved over to mine for a second as I quickly averted my gaze. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but when Major Sheppard had tackled me to save me from the stunner and he had been holding himself over me my heartbeat sped up that little bit faster. And when he had held my hand while we had been running, all I could think about was how warm and safe my hand felt with his…

I shook my head; get a grip you silly girl. He is my commanding officer and he was just saving my ass from getting stunned. That's all it was.

"She was following my orders."

"Shouldn't you be back at the infirmary?" Weir asked him as Sheppard walked over to a chair and sat down, he winced slightly as he spoke.

"No, I'm fine. I didn't take a full blast." He shrugged as I heard McKay beside me scoff slightly which made me smirk.

"Why didn't you go with them Major?" Weir asked Sheppard.

"Well, the natives of that planet are easily spooked. Teyla thought we'd scare them off with a big group." From next to Weir everyone heard Bates scoff.

"Teyla did." He said with disdain.

"What's that Sergeant?" Sheppard growled at him.

"She was conveniently absent during the ambush." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"So was Ford! Maybe it was him!" McKay cried out next to me.

"I'm just stating a fact, Sir." Bates said gruffly. The look on Major Sheppard's face could melt ice. He stood from the chair and walked up to Bates.

"Sergeant…I am only going to say this once—"

"With all due respect, Major, you can reprimand me if you wish, but it's been six times your teams been compromised, one of them including when Lieutenant Sumner was in charge as well. Only one Athosian knew about this last mission."

McKay and Weir both shift on their spots, obviously uncomfortable with the argument about Teyla being a spy, I didn't believe it myself. Teyla wouldn't do that; she had lost her father and village to the Wraith, why on Earth would she help them?

We were interrupted when the gate activated, we all turned to the technicians. "We have an unscheduled activation." He said as the wormhole established. "It's Teyla's I.D.C. Receiving a radio transmission."

We waited a few seconds before Teyla's voice came through, "This is Teyla. Lieutenant Ford has been wounded. The Wraith are closing in on our position."

I glance at Weir, to see Bates staring at her.

"You put down that shield and we could be opening this base up to a Wraith attack."

"Atlantis please let us through!" Teyla's desperate voice called again. Without thinking I shouted.

"Drop the shield!" All eyes turned to me as Weir looked towards the gate.

"Lieutenant Ford, can you confirm the situation?" she asked into the radio.

"He is unconscious. Our situation grows desperate. Soon we will have no choice but to go through the Stargate."

"We drop that shield and who knows what she'll bring through that gate with her?" Bates argued once more as I shot daggers at him with my eyes. Ford was hurt, possibly dying and we were all standing here decided whether to let him live or die.

"Open up the damn gate!" I heard Sheppard yell.

"Lower the shield." Her voice was low and commanding. The shield lowered as Teyla came backing up through the gate; she was dragging an unconscious Ford.

"Ford!" I cry as I spin on my heel and sprint out of the control room. I hurry down the stairs, I see Marines holding their guns at Teyla as she backs away with her hands in the air. I shove a Marine out of my way as I skid on my knees to Ford's side. My fingers go to his neck as I check for a pulse. I breath out a sigh of relief when I find one, I glance up at Teyla as I watch the Marine's escort her from the control room. The next second a gurney and medical team arrive to take Ford to the infirmary to be checked over. I rise from my position on the ground as I hear Bates speaking loudly.

"She should be locked up, under constant guard, now that we've outed her she's probably going to be sending signals to the Wraith to come get her." He said to Weir and McKay.

I felt my fists ball up at my sides; Major Sheppard is next to me.

"Teyla didn't do shit!" I screamed, lunging for the Sergeant. Bates stepped back in shock as I got one step before my arms were pinned by my side by the Major. "You want to lock Teyla up, you've got to get through me Sergeant!" I yelled as Weir stepped towards me.

"Lieutenant," she said calmly. I looked past her and glared at Bates.

"What? Nothing more to say now?" I growled at him as Weir stepped in front of me, blocking my view of Bates. Major Sheppard still had a hold of my arms. "Mia, why don't you go and get Teyla's side of the story, I'm sure she'll open up to you." Weir said to me as I saw her glance up at Sheppard as he dragged me away from them. If Sheppard didn't still have a tight hold on my arms I would have run back there and decked him in the face.

* * *

Sheppard dragged me out to one of the corridors and released me, "What the hell was that, Lieutenant?" he scowled at me as I glared.

"What? Didn't you hear what Bates was saying?"

"Yes I did, but I didn't threaten to have the head of security beaten to a pulp!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Look," he sighed, I met his hazel gaze as I saw his own eyes roaming over my face, "I know that you were sticking up for Teyla, and I appreciate it that you have her back like that."

"But…" I dragged out; I could hear the unfinished sentence hanging in the air. He sighed again, "but nothing, Lieutenant." He smirked at me as I frowned in confusion. He nodded his head in the direction of the military quarters, "Go and see Teyla, she probably needs someone to talk to." I nodded to him as I turned on my heel and strode down the hallway. Before I got to the corner I glanced over my shoulder and I saw Major Sheppard still staring at me, watching me walk away.

I knocked on Teyla's door when I arrived at her quarters. "Teyla, it's Mia." I called out to her, hoping that she would open up the door for me. I waited a few more seconds and was just about to knock once more when the door opened and Teyla stood before me. She didn't say anything and was silent until I spoke, "I came to see how you were." I said softly. She smiled at me and she stepped aside to let me into her quarters. I grinned and shook my head, "I'm sure you have some pent up anger against a certain Head of Security. Spar time?" I asked her as she too smiled.

"What's that saying Rodney says, uh, 'you read my mind'?" I chuckled as I inclined my head and Teyla and I headed off to my quarters so that I could change.

I changed from my uniform into a pair of long grey sweatpants and a red sports bra, I flicked a towel over my shoulder as I met Teyla outside my quarters and we headed over to the gym. "I want you to know, I don't believe anything that they're saying, as far as I'm concerned you are completely innocent and one-hundred percent with us." Teyla looked over at me and smiled.

"I am glad to hear that Mia." We arrived at the gym seeing it empty. I threw my towel to the side as we each picked up a pair on Batons. Teyla flicked hers around her wrists as I smirked as I did the same.

We both lunged at each other as the wooden sticks connected as loud and snap sounds were heard. I did three high hits, then one to the side and used the other one and came soaring across Teyla as she ducked down, spun around and blocked another one of my hits. She did a quick combo of hits that I defended but one managed to hit me on the shoulder as I winced and yelped.

I lunged at her again as I backed her into the corner, she did a swooping move much like I had done as I ducked down, instead of getting back up I used the baton to hit the back of her leg as she yelped in shock and buckled. I hit the sticks out of her hands and had her in a headlock in an instant.

"Again." She ordered as I grinned and jumped away from her.

* * *

About an hour later I left the gym and was walking the halls back to my quarters when I saw McKay come skidding around the corner, he did a double take at me and then came running up to me. "Lieutenant, there you are I've been looking all over for you, where have you been?" he barked at me as I looked at him shocked.

"In the gym, obviously." I pointed to my attire as McKay cleared his throat.

"Yes, well. I need you for something." He gestured for me to follow him as I did.

We entered his lab; I set my towel down on a chair as I followed McKay to his computer. I glanced at the desk and did a double take at all the stuff there. "McKay! These are Teyla's belongings!" I scolded him as he shook his head.

"I don't have time to explain. How's your engineering with transmitters?" he asked me as I continued to glare at him. "Look, Bates forced me to check out her stuff, I did and I found something. I thought I should show you before I tell Major Sheppard." I glared even harder at the mention of Bates but with McKay saying that he found something I walked to his computer. On it showed a circular device; I looked down at McKay's hands and saw a familiar necklace.

"That's Teyla's necklace, she wears it all the time."

McKay nodded, "It's also a transmitter. I've managed to turn it off and I think that having the ATA gene activates it. Here," he held it out for me.

"You have the gene McKay, shouldn't it already be back on?" I asked him as he shook his head.

"My ATA gene isn't strong enough to activate it, the only people on this base that have the highest gene strength is you and Major Sheppard." He dropped it into my hand as I saw the screen on the computer start freaking out. "It sends out a signal every time someone, being Ancients, come in close contact with it." McKay said. I looked from the necklace to the screen.

"But why?" I asked him. He rubbed his forehead.

"As far as I can tell, it isn't Ancient technology. The only other explanation is that it's—"

"Wraith…" I interrupted, cutting him off. He nodded solemnly.

"And seeing as every time we go off world, either you or Major Sheppard are with us, it sends out a signal that alerts the Wraith and they come looking. Teyla had no idea."

McKay then brought in Major Sheppard next, I waited in McKay's lab to help with the explanation, and also so Sheppard wouldn't kill McKay for going through Teyla's things. When he did arrive he reacted exactly as I thought he would. McKay told him what he had found out, me adding in my two cents when needed. Sheppard eventually told us that it was he who found the necklace back on Teyla's home planet. They both went off afterwards to debrief Weir on what they had found as I headed back to my quarters to have a nice long shower. If everything went well with Weir, Sheppard said that we could use the transmitter to our advantage and ambush the Wraith.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed, this scene always reminds me of the one where Teyla and Bates fought, but still different though! I know in some cases Mia would have been reprimanded by the CO but Weir and Sheppard don't agree with Bates so that's why they didn't really care about scolding her! I hope you all enjoyed and thank you everyone for reviewing and alerting! It does mean the world to me!**

 **Reply's**

 **Adela** \- Thank you! I know it's once a week but it's only so that I can work on my other stories and Season 2!

 **parmakai66** \- Aww I wish! But he was still out from the bug, kissing will come but a little later and some rescuing I promise aaaand maybe a little more if you catch my drift ;) Yesss one of the reasons why I love his character so much! Haha he sneaks his way in I can tell you that! I'll give you a little peek, the Storm and the Eye are my FAVOURITE chapters that I have written. I wish I did as well, but this way I can work on Season 2 and do the exact same thing and so on!

 **Caty91** \- Oh my gosh I hope you're ok! I've never had one but what a coincidence that in these chapters Mia had a concussion too! hahah Yeah it's coming on slowly but you won't have to wait like 2 seasons for them to get together which I hate -.-

 **Guest** **64** \- Thank youu! Yes she was in action, and a little bit in this one too, with a side of fluff! I can only dream of John carrying me, sigh.

 **amandaslaury** \- Not sure if you'll see this seeing as you wrote it in chapter 1 but thank you! My number 1 show definitely!

 **Again thanks everyone! Hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you all think! I love hearing from you!**


	8. Genesis - Chapter 8

Happy Thursday guys! Sadly this is a short chapter this week but maybe I'll do some specials and have long chapters every once in a while. Not much fluff in this one but we do have a bit of interaction and alone time with them. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

Once I had finished my nightly routine and was about to climb into bed someone knocked on my door. I headed over to it and opened it and saw Ford standing before me. "Ford," I said in slight shock. Then the guilt washed over me, I hadn't even gone to see him in the infirmary. "Oh god, Ford. I'm so sorry; I should have come seen how you were. I guess I just forgot, I was with Teyla and then helping McKay with the transmitter…"

"Mia it's alright." Ford said with a chuckle. "I came to see how you are, I heard you almost got into it with Bates after Teyla brought me back." I shrugged sheepishly as Ford chuckled once more, "Anyway I came here to tell you that we got the go ahead from Weir, tomorrow we're ambushing the Wraith. I came to tell you to meet me in the armory at oh-nine-hundred."

"Alright, I'll be there." I nodded as Ford grinned at me.

"Night Mia," he waved as he began walking off.

"Night," I said softly as I waved my hand over the sensor and the door shut. And with that, I finally collapsed on my bed to fall into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning I woke and dressed in my uniform, I left my jacket and just wore the combat pants, boots and the tight black shirt. I pulled my hair into a tight ponytail and put my cap on my head, pulling my hair out of the hole in the back. I clipped on my belt and sidearm as I left my quarters and headed on over to the armory. When I got there I could hear McKay and Sheppard arguing about if McKay wanted to do this or not, I entered the room as they all looked to me.

"Morning," I said cheerfully. McKay noticed this and glared.

"And why are you so happy?" he grumbled to me as I smirked, walked up to him and bumped his shoulder softly.

"We get to kill some Wraith today." He rolled his eyes at me as I heard a soft chuckle from Sheppard next to him. Our gazes locked and again I felt my heart rate speed up just that little more.

The sound of footsteps broke our connection as I looked to the entrance to see Teyla standing there looking uncomfortable. She had heard the news about her necklace I was sure of it.

"You're late," Sheppard says gruffly as he turns around.

"Sorry," Teyla said sincerely with a slight smile on her face, knowing that everything was fine between all of us. She walked up next to me and stood by my side as Ford explained all the gear that he had brought.

* * *

After an hour our two teams were geared up and ready to go. We had our team and another one full of Marines, it was turning out to be a very exciting day for me. We arrived on the same planet that the Wraith had ambushed us on the other day with the ruins. We knew we only had a matter of time before the Wraith showed up so we got to work, the Marine began setting up the explosives on the other side of the clearing as Teyla and I sat behind a wall of ruins. I checked my ammo and the stun grenade Ford had given me. I knelt up and peered over the wall to see Sheppard setting down Teyla's necklace on the ground and then hurrying back to his hiding spot. Another Marine was pulling the copper wire back towards us. Once he was done he leapt over the wall and huddled next to us with the detonator.

" _Major, this is Ford_." I heard him speak into the radio.

" _What you got, Lieutenant_?" he asked.

" _We've got company. Four of them_." He said as I glanced over at Teyla to my right, she nodded at me as I gave her a reassuring grin.

" _Teyla_?" I hear Sheppard ask for the Athosian as she peers around the wall and nods to Sheppard. When she pulls back she tells the Marine next to me to blow the claymores. He nods as hits the button as a huge and loud explosion goes off. Knowing that it was my turn I pull the pin on my grenade, sit up and throw it in the direction of the Wraith. Three more explosions go off as Teyla, the Marine and myself jump up and fire at a Wraith, it cry's out and goes down. Teyla and I run around the wall and take down another Wraith guard. I heard Teyla's gun jam as I finished off the last Wraith before us.

I look over to Sheppard and see them about to Taser a Wraith that had sat back up again, the Marine runs over to them as I heard Teyla throw her jammed gun on the floor and pull out her pistol. I keep watching the Marines, McKay, Ford and Sheppard Taser the Wraith. I glanced over my shoulder expecting to see Teyla standing next to me but she wasn't there.

"Teyla!" I yell as I caught a glimpse of her hair running around the tree line. Huffing I chased after her, the only reason she would run off would be if she spotted another Wraith. I came around the trees and vegetation to see Teyla on the ground with the Wraith. I fire at the Wraith with my p-90 as it stops and turns to me. I fire until all the bullets are spent and I need to reload. I realize that I have no time to reload as I reach for my sidearm, but it was already too late. I duck just as the Wraith goes to backhand me through the air. I spin out as I pull my knife out from behind me as I see the creature smirk as he lunges for me. I jump back and dodge him as I try and use the knife to slice him anywhere but the bugger was lightning fast. I blocked his feeding hand with my forearm as I bring the knife across his face. It yelps in pain as it stumbles back, blood dripping from its cheek. I smirk as it snarls and charges for me once more. I dodge his attacks but I wasn't expected a kick to the stomach to be so powerful. I was thrown threw the air nearly ten feet and landed on the ground, having the wind knocked out of me. I gasped for air as I watch Teyla begin fighting with the Wraith with a stick that she had picked up. The Wraith manages to disarm her and is about to feed on her when a stunner comes flying through the air and hits the Wraith. I look to where the stunner came from and saw Sheppard holding one of their stunners. He hurries over to the Wraith as a Marine follows close behind. Sheppard stuns him once more as it goes unconscious as I push myself up onto my own two feet. My back is aching from the hit I took as I rub it as I see Ford jogging up to me. "Hey," he says to me as I nod and grimace as I stretch out my back. "You alright?" he asks as I nod.

"Yeah," I groan, "just a little sore." I laugh as Ford smirks at me as we all begin heading back to Atlantis. Two Marines carrying the unconscious Wraith and another one standing guard with a stunner. Why we were taking him back to Atlantis I had no idea.

* * *

It was a few days later after the Wraith ambush, our team had a few days to recuperate, like a weekend I guess. Tomorrow we resumed duties and were heading off world once more. I was walking through the corridors of Atlantis; I was going to meet Teyla in the mess hall for lunch when my radio buzzed.

" _Lieutenant Sumner?_ " Weir's voice came through. I hit my headset.

"Yes Dr. Weir?" I replied as I stopped walking.

" _Can you meet me in my office, I'd like to discuss something with you?_ " she asked. I frowned, wondering what it could be.

"I'll be there in five ma'am." I replied as I turned around and headed to the control room.

I hurried up the stairs and across the catwalk as I stood at attention just inside Weir's office.

"Dr. Weir?" She glanced up from her tablet and smiled at me.

"Lieutenant, thank you for getting here so quickly." I didn't say anything as she clasped her hands together, "I was talking with Major Sheppard and we both agreed that it's time for you to learn how to fly one of the Puddle jumpers." She grinned as I cocked an eyebrow.

"Uh, I'm not sure I'd be able to do that." I said softly as Weir looked at me weirdly. I sighed as I rubbed my shoulder, "I'm not good with flying," I mumbled. I met her gaze, "I hate heights." I admitted as I felt my cheeks heat up from embarrassment. I looked away then back to her, she was smiling at me in an understanding way I guess. "Alright, I won't make you do it if it's too uncomfortable for you, Lieutenant." She said to me. I continued staring at her.

"But," I began, "I guess it would benefit me and you, if you need someone to fly the thing and no one else is available but me then I guess I should learn." I sighed. She chuckled to herself.

"It's up to you, Lieutenant. I'm sure Major Sheppard is an excellent teacher. If you want to, he's waiting up in the jumper bay. He's heading on over to the Mainland to pick up Teyla." Weir gathered up her tablet as she spoke to me, she brushed past me and left her office. At the mention of flying my palms had begun to sweat as I hastily wiped them on my trousers. I tried to get my breathing under control as I spun on my heel and headed towards the jumper bay.

I didn't want to be the laughing stock of Atlantis, I was beginning to get a reputation around here as one of the toughest fighters on Atlantis, if they found out I was afraid of flying…well, I didn't want to think of it.

* * *

When I reached the jumper bay I went to the nearest puddle jumper and glanced inside. I saw Major Sheppard sitting in the driver's seat or whatever the hell it was called. I cleared my throat as he glanced over his shoulder, "Lieutenant, I was beginning to think you wouldn't show." He grinned at me as I walked further into the jumper. He stood out of the seat and allowed me to fall into it softly. I looked at all the weird controls on the dashboard as I glanced at him. "It's a piece of cake, really." I rolled my eyes slightly and smirked. "Ok, that button there closes the cargo bay door." He pointed to a button that I hovered my hand over.

"This one?" I asked as I looked at him. He shook his head as he leaned over from his chair, he pointed to the one next to it as I moved my hand to it, as he pulled back his fingers brushed over mine as I quickly hit the button as I heard the door closing.

"Now, the jumper can pretty much be controlled with your mind, hence why only people with the ATA gene can control it. But it is easier to use the control sticks when you're learning how to fly it." He pointed to the two clear control sticks; I avoided his gaze as I gripped them. When I did the engine powered up, it made me jump slightly. "Alright, you turned it on, good. Now comes the hard part." My head turned to him quickly.

"All you got to do is just use your mind to help control it. Think about hovering into the air." I turned back to look out the front window as I concentrated on making the jumper hover. After a few seconds the jumper shook and then I felt it come off the ground. Sheppard hit a button on the dashboard, "Control this is Jumper one. We are ready for takeoff." He said. We waited a few seconds before a reply came through.

" _All clear Jumper One, the bay doors are open you are clear for takeoff_." Came the voice. Sheppard turned to me once more.

"Alright, pull them down to go up. Push them up to go down and side-to-side for left and right. Then just think about moving forwards. Got that?" he asked me as my grip tightened on the control sticks. I nodded quickly. "Alright, Lieutenant, take us out." He grinned at me as I breathed through my nose harshly and slowly pulled the control sticks down. The Jumper tilted towards the bay doors as I started thinking about the ship moving forwards. Slowly but surely it began to move and then we were free from Atlantis and soaring through the sky. I felt myself smiling like an idiot as the jumper flew through the sky. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. And with the inertial dampeners I couldn't even feel a thing. My fear of flying was at the back of my mind at this moment.

"Well look at that Lieutenant, you're a natural." Sheppard said from beside me as I turned to him, grinning like an idiot. I looked back out the window as I suddenly thought about how long it would take us to get to the mainland. And then suddenly a screen showed up before me on the window. It showed our position, Atlantis behind us and then a course we were taking to the settlement. It would take roughly twenty-five minutes to get there.

"What's this?" I asked Sheppard as I looked to him.

"The Jumper is controlled by Neural Interface, much like most of the Ancient Technology. This is the HUD, it comes in handy." He said as he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. I nodded as I went back to looking out of the window, I wanted to try and see if I could control the ship without using the control sticks. I let go of the control sticks as I started thinking about turning the ship to the left. It obeyed me, I grinned as I glanced over at Sheppard. He was smirking at me, "Like I said," he murmured, "A natural."

We fell into a comfortable silence after that. We didn't speak for nearly ten minutes before Sheppard broke the silence. "So, Lieutenant. Did you leave anyone back home?" he asked me. I frowned as I looked at him from the corner of my eye; he was staring straight out the window.

"No, sir. I didn't leave anyone." I said softly as I suddenly become interested with some buttons on the dashboard.

"No family, other than Colonel Sumner?" he was finally looking at me but I didn't look at him. Family was an iffy subject for me.

"No, sir." I said. I finally turned and looked at him, I didn't know why, but I felt myself wanting to tell him about me tragic life story. "My mom died when I was two. A Nanny raised me as my dad was always deployed. Aiden is pretty much my family, sir."

"How did you two meet?" he asked me.

"When I was three he and his grandparents moved in next door, I was curious and went over to see them, from then on Ford and I were inseparable." I felt the corner of my mouth turn up into a smile remembering my childhood with Ford. It was silent for a few seconds before I spoke up, "What about you Major? Leave many broken hearts behind?" I smirked at him as he chuckled.

"Nope. I got a brother and dad that I don't talk to much, they wanted me to be a business man, carry on the family company and all that, so I decided to join the Air Force." I laughed out laugh. Once I stopped I looked to him.

"No mother?" I asked as he shook his head.

"She died when I was fifteen."

"Were you close to her?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"I guess so." I could feel a solemn look come over my face.

"I'm sorry." I said sincerely.

"Thanks," he said softly, "You must know how it feels though," he spoke. I shrugged.

"Not really, I didn't know her. I have no memories of her. How can you feel loss for someone you never even knew?"

The conversation stopped after that, I think I may have brought the mood down about talking about not missing my dead mother, but I didn't care anyways, I have had a long time to get over her death. After another silent ten minutes Sheppard told me that we were arriving at the Mainland.

"Alright, you're going to want to head on over to that area there to set us down. Now just think about lowering the jumper gently to the ground." He said as I felt my brow furrow in concentration as I let the control sticks go back to a normal position, I could feel the jumped descending from the sky slowly.

"Gentle…gentle." Sheppard whispered, I grew annoyed at his childish commands, thinking I couldn't land this hunk of junk. In my diverted anger, I didn't realize how close the ground was and the jumper hit the ground, shaking the jumper and almost throwing Sheppard out of his seat. "I said gently!" he exclaimed as I turned to him.

"You were distracting me," I retorted. I rose from the pilot seat as I hit the cargo bay door as it opened. Sheppard was mumbling something under his breath as I left the puddle jumper.

* * *

The Athosian camp reminded me of the last one, it brought back bad memories for me as I took a deep breath, now was not the time to get emotional.

"Mia!" a voice called as I turned and smiled as Jinto ran up to me. He hugged me around the waist as I stumbled slightly and laughed.

"Hey Jinto." Sheppard appeared from the jumper with his sunglasses on.

"Major Sheppard!" Jinto left me and went to Sheppard as he high fived him.

"Hey buddy," Sheppard said as he patted him on the shoulder. Jinto then turned back to me.

"Father had been wondering when you would come see us. You must come see him!" He cried as he gripped my hand and dragged me off, I heard Sheppard laughing to himself behind me.

We came to a large tent as Jinto hit the flap out of the way and walked in, I followed behind him as I spotted Halling meditating on the floor. "Father, Mia has come to see us," Jinto said as Halling opened his eyes and stood from the ground. Halling smiled at me and walked up to me.

"It is good to see you well Mia," he said to me as he grasped the side of my head and bent it down to meet his in the Athosian greeting.

"You as well, Halling." I said once he released my head.

Halling offered me tea as I sat with the both of them, talking about how their people have settled on the mainland. Jinto told me stories of how he and Wex had been exploring the forests and caves here; they had not yet found any overly dangerous animals here, of which I am glad about. As we were finishing up the tea Jinto suddenly jumped up, "I almost forgot," he hurried over to his bed and dug around for something. He walked back with something in his hand, "When I was on Atlantis, Lieutenant Ford told me that you used to ride animals called horses, he showed me some pictures and I made this for you." he opened his hand and I smiled as he handed me a necklace, it had a leather tie and the charm that hung on it was a little wooden horse.

"Jinto it's lovely," I smiled at him, "thank you." I said to him as I put it around my neck. He grinned at me.

"I carved it myself, from one of the trees on the mainland. As a reminder to never forget us." I looked down at the charm again and grasped it with one hand.

"I will never forget either of you." I said to them as Jinto once again smiled.

Teyla came by after Jinto had told me another story and said that we were leaving as it was getting late. Jinto hugged me again, as I waved to Halling. Teyla and I left their home as we walked back to the jumper.

"That is a lovely necklace, Jinto had told me he had wanted to make you something for a while now." Teyla grinned slyly at me as I gave her a glance over my shoulder.

"What's that look for?" I asked her as she laughed softly.

"It seems you have an admirer."

"Who has an admirer?" Sheppard pried, as he seemed to appear out of nowhere. Teyla laughed as I felt my cheeks redden slightly.

"I suspect Jinto has a, what you would call, a crush on Mia."

I rolled my eyes at them both as they laughed at my expense, it was obvious Jinto had a crush on me; I would have to be blind not to see it. I shook my head at them as they continued talking about it as we made our way back to the jumper. I went straight to the pilot seat as Sheppard sat back in the co-pilot and Teyla sat behind him.

I closed the cargo bay doors as the jumper hummed to life as I raised it into the air and back in the direction of Atlantis.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and alerted, it means the world to me that people are enjoying this story!**

 **REPLIES** (I only just realised this chapter that I have been spelling it wrong, doi)

 **parmakai66** \- Aw i'm flattered! Dw, i won't tell anyone that your not working! Yes i'm so glad you think he was in character there, it's so much fun to write awkward Sheppard! Of course, i wouldn't mind getting tacked by him! I wish she would've hit him too but that's Teyla's job, she get's to have all the fun. Yeah I have a few stories on Hiatus because i've lost my mojo for them right now, so I'm just focusing on the 2 that I have going right now and then i'll focus on them. ehh i normally have longer chapters but if i release shorter one's it just means i have more time to write, believe me I want to give you all 10 page chapters every week but you'll catch up too fast! haha

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **guest** **64** \- Aw thanks :) I haven't tried to make them stronger, it might've happened by accident but oh well.

 **Sheppardlover928** \- I'm replying to all 3 of your reviews right now. I'm so happy that even though it wasn't your cup of tea you decided to give it a try, thank you! Colonel Sumner having a child had been playing on my mind for ages, and it flows well i think! Thank you for saying that about my writing, makes me feel all giddy inside! Of course she is, who wouldn't after getting saved by that hunk of manliness?!

 **Caty91** \- ooooooohhhh man. Sanctuary is honestly so funny for me, and LOP...that was a tear jerker. Not going to lie I got pretty sad writing it, now I can't wait. I'm going to reread them now while all of you's have to wait mwahaha

 **Thank you everyone! Let me know what you all think and i'll see you all next week!**


	9. Genesis - Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Welcome to another thursday! Now, I have a bit of an announcement, seeing as I love you all so much and I want to thank all of you for reading and leaving me lovely reviews I have made the decision to have each chapter permanently 10 pages! So no more short chapters yay! I feel as if each chapter really needs to be this long to get the full effect and cutting it off that short was really choppy for some of the episode's so tadaa! I hope you all enjoy this new development and I want to thank everyone like always for alerting and favouriting my story and of course reviewing. Makes me so happy knowing that people are enjoying it!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

"Now remember—"

"Gently, I got it." I grumbled to Sheppard, I heard Teyla chuckle behind me as I lowered the jumper into the bay. We were coming down slowly and the jumper touched down softly, like a leaf touching down on the waters' surface. I spun in my seat to the right as I crossed my arms over my chest and gave Sheppard a look. We held each other's gaze until he smirked at me. The cargo by doors opened and Ford stood there with a giant grin on his face.

"Nice flying," he commented as I rose from the chair.

"Thank you," I said as I walked passed him, "I'm a natural."

The four of us headed to the mess hall for dinner, we all grabbed trays of dinner and headed over to the table in one of the corners. I sat down, Teyla sat next to me, then Sheppard across from me and Ford next to him. Sheppard and Ford started up a conversation between them; I wasn't really paying attention. I was picking at my mashed potato and holding the necklace that Jinto gave me. I didn't know how long I had spaced for when Teyla nudged me with her elbow.

"Hmm?" I said softly as I looked at her, with her head she nodded towards Ford as I glanced up at him, "What?" I asked him. Ford laughed and shook his head.

"Did you not hear a word I said?" I pursed my lips and shook my head.

"Not really, no." I smirked at him as Sheppard leaned back in his chair.

"She was too busy thinking about her admirer." He said slyly as I frowned at him. Ford looked like he'd just been told it was Christmas.

"What? Someone likes you?" he said in disbelief. I scoffed at him and then turned my glare to Sheppard.

"Thanks, now he's never going to drop it." I said dryly as I picked a bean off of my plate and chucked it at Sheppard. It hit him dead in the forehead as Teyla and I burst into giggles. Sheppard looked stunned for a second as Ford broke out into laughter.

* * *

I woke up early the next morning, we finally had another mission and we'd be leaving within the hour. I dressed in my combat pants, black shirt and jacket. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and pulled my cap on over my head. I strapped my side arm to my leg as I made my way to the armory. I zipped up my tactical vest with the p-90 as Grodin's voice came over the comms. "SGA-1 please report to the jumper bay for mission departure." It cut off as I headed to the jumper room. The other four were already there when I arrived, we all headed into the puddle jumper. Sheppard took the pilot seat and motioned me to take the co-pilot seat, I sat down, first shooting Ford a worried look but he just smiled at me. The cargo bay doors shut as Weir's voice came over the radio; " _Good luck, let's try not and have anymore Wraith encounters, shall we?_ "

"Will do," Sheppard said as the jumper came to life. We lowered into the control room, as the gate was already open for us as we flew through it.

We emerged into a planet that was strikingly similar to that of Earth, before us was a dense forest. Mountains could bee seen off in the distance with snow atop their peaks. "Anything look familiar to you, Teyla?" Sheppard asked the Athosian as she rose from the chair she was sitting in, she leaned on the back of mine.

"No. I do not believe this is a world I have visited before."

"Without landmarks, how can you tell?" Ford asked from beside her.

"It is difficult by air, but every world is unique in it's own way."

McKay then went on a rant about how he and Colonel Samantha Carter worked together to solve global catastrophe. And how planets that supported life were similar to that of Earth.

Suddenly the jumper shook, I gripped onto the console, my fear of flying kicking in. A million scenarios of us crash landing and dying ran through my head as Ford spoke, "Turbulence?"

"Seems to be ok now. Wonder what that was?" Sheppard questioned just as the HUD comes up. I didn't understand what the squiggly lines meant but McKay did. The jumper shook slightly again as I felt my breakfast coming up my throat but I held it down.

"Getting seriously conflicted readings. Looks like some sort of powerful energy field about two thousand yards over there." McKay was sitting behind us so we actually had no idea where he was pointing to, as we couldn't see him.

"Over where?" I asked him as he spoke once more.

"Umm, eighteen degrees from our current heading." I leant forwards to the console and turned the dial towards the eighteen-degree mark.

"Do you think it's worth checking out?" Sheppard asked McKay.

"Any significant energy emission generally indicates technological civilization."

"So, you think it's worth checking out?" Sheppard said pointedly as I smirked.

"I'm sorry. Yes. Energy field good." McKay says sarcastically to Sheppard as the Major rolls his eyes. Suddenly the jumper shakes violently as I grip the console once more, the HUD suddenly fritzes out and goes blank.

"It's getting worse." Teyla remarked as the jumper continued to shake.

"I'd just like to point out that I have a fear of flying." I said, my voice shaking as McKay, Sheppard and Teyla looked at me. Ford already knew of my fear.

"Why did you not explain this before?" Teyla asked as I felt her hand on my shoulder. "Because Dr. Weir forced me to have flying lessons! And I thought the jumper was safe from turbulence." I cried as the jumper shook some more.

"That's enough, I'm getting out of here." Sheppard tries to steer the ship. "I'm not gaining any altitude. Controls are unresponsive."

I looked over my shoulder and met gazes with Ford; he could obviously sense my distress. He mouthed 'it'll be ok' to me but when the jumper shook violently again and Sheppard spoke my worst fears had been realized.

"We're going in."

I looked back out the window, a million thoughts rushed through my head, and mainly I thought I was about to die. I could feel vomit coming up my throat and I felt like I was about to pass out. My knuckles hurt so badly I thought they were about to fall off I was gripping the console so hard. The last thing I remember was the jumper hitting the ground and my head smacking against something hard as I was knocked out.

When I came around my hearing was fuzzy and I couldn't really open my eyes. "Mia? Mia are you all right? Can you hear me?" I think it was Teyla who was speaking to me, I couldn't be sure.

"Lieutenant, wake your sorry ass up." I heard Sheppard say as my eyes opened. Teyla and Ford were hovering over me; behind them I could make out McKay and Sheppard.

"Nice landing," I remarked to the Major as he smirked.

"Thank you."

Ford held out his hand to me as I grasped it as he pulled me up, I stood up too quickly as I suddenly felt something vile coming up from my stomach. I think everyone sensed what was about to happen as I sprung out of the jumper and hurled my breakfast into the sand at my feet.

I felt a pat on my back and glanced through my eyelashes and saw Teyla smiling at me softly. She handed me a bottle of water as I gulped it down, I then took another swig and rinsed my mouth out and spat it out.

"I'm alright." I said to her as the rest came out of the jumper. "There was a reason why I didn't join the Air Force." I laughed as Ford and Sheppard chuckled.

* * *

We were walking through this planets forest; apparently the thing that had taken down the jumper and all of our equipment was some electromagnetic field. Ford had brought a compass to another galaxy and for some reason McKay could track where the source of it was.

We arrived at some really old ruins; Teyla and I were examining some markings on them. "Didn't we fly over this on the way in?" McKay asked Sheppard as he was looked to and from the compass.

"I don't know. I was kind of busy with the whole trying not to get us killed thing."

"These ruins are very old." Teyla said from beside me. "Several hundred years at least, I'd say. Maybe more."

"So the population here is extinct?" Ford asked from the other side of the ruins.

"Then why is the field still running?" I asked McKay as he shrugged.

"Check this out," McKay said as he showed the compass to Sheppard. I walked a bit further down the ruins, looking at all the markings.

"Alright, guys, stay here for a second. Let's see if, uh, McKay can—" he was cut off when figures jumped out from the bushes and aimed, lord help me, bows and arrows at us.

Springing into action I jumped back towards Teyla as I held up my p-90, I had a clear shot at one of the…boys? I glanced around at our attackers, they surrounded us but most of them were children. They couldn't be older then seventeen or twenty! It seemed that the others saw this too.

"They're kids, Ford." Sheppard murmured to Ford. I lowered my p-90 down slowly, keeping eye contact with the boy in front of me who only looked fifteen, the same age as Jinto.

"Yeah, with weapons pointed at us."

"Lower your weapon, Lieutenant." Sheppard orders as I heard Ford drop his gun to his chest.

"Hey kids." Sheppard said in a jovial tone.

"We are not here to harm you in any way." Teyla said from beside me. "We arrived through the Stargate. We were only trying to return home."

The kids before us didn't speak, they only stared, I was starting to doubt whether they knew English. I mean, we were in a different galaxy for Christ sake.

"You're a full grown," the boy in front of me said, pointing at me.

"Yes," I said hesitantly. Well, wasn't I mistaken?

"You need to see the Elders." He said as Sheppard stepped towards me. "Elders…sound good. Just lead the way." He said as a few of the boys dropped their weapons but most still had them up as they motioned for us to follow. I lead, with Sheppard behind me. Teyla, McKay and Ford followed after.

The children led us to a small village, glancing upwards I saw that their homes were built into the trees, log bridges and ropes connected all the houses together. I gaze round and see numerous children, they all varied in ages but none looked older than eighteen. Some were cooking food, others were making weapons and the younger children were running around playing. A boy held out his hand to stop myself and Sheppard from walking any further as a rope ladder dropped down before us. A boy hurries up the ladder as Teyla calls out to us urgently.

"Major!"

I turn around with everyone else as we see what Teyla had spotted upon our arrival; we walk over to it as I finally make out what it is. There was an Earthy mound, covered in various scraps of metal, at the foot of the mound lay a skeleton of a Wraith warrior.

"That's not what I think it is." I said, completely perplexed as to why these children would have some sort of Wraith shrine here.

"Now where'd they get that?" Ford mumbled.

"It looks like a shrine," Teyla said.

"You don't think they worship the Wraith, do you?" Ford asked Sheppard in a judgmental tone.

"That'd be a first." He replied.

"It'd be disturbing." McKay said in disgust.

"And down right creepy." I added as a young boy, the one who had called me a full-grown, walked over to us.

"Wraith bones." He said, nodding to them.

"Yeah, we know."

"It's death bird fell out of the sky years ago. We keep it here to remind us how life used to be." The others yapped on as I focused on what the boy had said, if these children had a device that could inadvertently stop the Wraith, why couldn't they share it around? Maybe Teyla's people could have developed something similar and the Wraith culling's could stop, they could have been prevented and maybe my dad could still be alive.

"Mia." Sheppard's voice jolted me out of my thoughts as I looked back at him. Ford, Teyla and McKay were climbing the rope ladder that had dropped down from before. It occurred to me then that this was the first time Sheppard had called my by my first name. It was either Lieutenant or Sumner, never Mia. I hurried over to him,

"Sorry, Sir." I apologized to him.

"You ok?" he asked me as I looked at him with confusion. "I just mean you were spaced out there for a while," he motioned to the Wraith Shrine as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Just thinking, Sir."

He continued to stare at me for a few more seconds, knowing that something was bothering me; at last he motioned for me to climb the ladder. I hoisted myself up, relieved that I didn't have to look at his piercing hazel gaze anymore. It was a mission in itself to climb up this ladder, when I neared to top Ford extended his hand to me as I grasped it as he helped pull me up.

Once I was stood straight I looked around at the hut we were in. It was quite large; it had a few tables and some sort of incense burning in the air. At the back were two men; they were younger than me by the looks of it, and one was wearing some weird hat that looked like the youngest children had put it together.

Sheppard emerges from the hole and walks over to them.

"Hi. Nice to meet you." he said. The one wearing the hat nodded to us.

"I am Keras, one of the village Elders.

"I'm Sheppard," he starts pointed to us each, "and this is Rodney, Teyla and…you say you're one of the Elders?" Sheppard asked, shocked slightly.

"Yes," came Keras' monotonous reply.

"How old are you?" Sheppard inquired.

"Twenty-Four." I felt my eyebrows rise to my hairline in surprise.

"And that makes you an Elder?"

"How did you get here Sheppard?" Keras asked suspiciously, changing the subject. "We used the Stargate to travel from our world to visit yours."

"You do know of the Stargate?" Teyla questioned him, her tone more welcoming. "No one has come through the Well for nearly five-hundred years." Keras explained. "Yeah well, here's the thing. Um…we're a little lost." Sheppard said as Keras looked at all of us.

"And you are all older…than twenty-four?" he inquired as Sheppard suddenly leaned back to look at Ford and myself.

"Mia, Ford? How old are you two?"

"Twenty-five, sir." Ford and I both replied at the same time. It didn't escape my notion that he had called me Mia again.

"I guess so." Keras didn't say anything. "Is that a problem?" Sheppard asked him.

Finally Keras moves, he takes off his headpiece and points to a circle of pillows.

"Please, sit." The second man that had been in the room but hadn't spoken suddenly steps towards Keras.

"They are trespassers, Keras. We don't have to explain ourselves." Keras raises a hand that shuts the other man up. I saw the dark glare that he shot Keras, looks like those two didn't see eye to eye.

* * *

We all take our seats on the cushions, Ford is on my right, Sheppard on my left, Teyla next to him, then McKay, the other boy and then Keras.

"You are familiar with the Wraith?" Keras asked.

"Yes," Teyla replied.

"Well, we aren't friends, or anything like that." Sheppard pointed out.

"The Wraith used to farm our planet, as we used to farm livestock and beasts of burden, only we were their herd."

"Yeah, they seem to do that everywhere." Ford said in disgust.

"Our ancestors fought them but our weapons were not strong enough. Our people tried to hide from them, but they were always found. None died peacefully. None could enter into the Eternal Rest."

"Eternal Rest?" McKay asked, confused.

"To die at the hands of the Wraith—to breathe your last breath amongst such hatred and evil—there's no way to move peacefully into the next world when that is your fate. My ancestors decided that, to beat the Wraith, we must learn to think as they do. We ensured that we would never provide the Wraith with a crop worth picking." Keras explained. I was still severely confused.

"By…?" Sheppard said slowly, wanting Keras to explain more.

"None of us passes the age of twenty-four." I felt my jaw drop.

"What?" I blurted as McKay spoke.

"How do you manage that?"

"On the eve of our twenty-fifth year, we make the sacrifice, both for our people and for our own safe passage into the Eternal Rest." As it sunk in, we all realized what Keras was talking about.

"What?" McKay cried.

"You kill each other?" Sheppard yelled in outrage.

"No," Keras said, "We take our own lives. And so the Wraith have not returned for nearly five hundred years."

I looked around our circle, all of my team had shocked and somewhat disgusted faces. Teyla seemed to be taking it the hardest, she knew of the hardship that these children endured. The constant fear of Wraith, she could understand their fear but I could see of her face she could not see the point of them taking their own lives.

"This is ridiculous!" I said, revolted. "How could possibly killing yourselves at that age stop the Wraith from coming? They don't care how old you are, to them you are one thing, food." I locked gazes with Keras but he didn't seem to take on what I said. The other boy leaned to Keras.

"We must discuss with the other Elders now." Keras nodded to him as the two stood and moved over to four more people. Three were boys and one girl.

* * *

After another conversation with Keras, he had conversed with the other Elders and allowed us to stay until the Jumper was fixed. McKay and Ford would go and check out the ruins once more but two villagers would watch them. Sheppard agreed to this and the two left. The three of us then descended back down to the ground, Sheppard went off with Keras to talk as Teyla and I walked around the village. Many children came up and greeted us, but some stayed away, scared that if they came in contact with us it might bring the Wraith upon them.

"I don't get how they can live like this," I said to Teyla after a while, "They haven't even lived half their lives." We stopped under a large tree with low hanging branches that drooped around us.

"They seem to cherish the short life they have. It is strange to you as it is not your way of life." I nodded to her. She was right; on Earth life was cherished. This planet scared me.

Suddenly footsteps came rushing up around us, Teyla and turned to look at a bunch of children, probably only six or seven as they looked at us with wide eyes.

"They said you are full-grown." A little girl said. She then put her hands on her hips, "Aida said that if we touch you the Wraith would come. I told them that it's not true." She said defiantly. I smirked and looked at Teyla over my shoulder, she was smiling at the children. I stepped forwards and knelt down to her level, I held out my hand to her.

"I assure you the Wraith won't come." I said to her softly as she grinned and then quickly poked my hand. The other children behind her gasped and screamed, then they waited for a few seconds, after nothing happened they all started giggling and stepped closer. More of them poked my hand and giggled when nothing happened, soon the little girl who had poked my first grasped my hand.

"You must come play with us!" she cried out as she began dragging me towards the village once more. More children came up to me and began dragging me away from Teyla, I looked over my shoulder at her, but the Athosian was just laughing. When we reached the village, I got some stares from older children and the younger ones who were pulling me got worried stares. We stopped near the center of the village.

"Ok what game should we play?" the girl said to the other children and me.

We ended up playing a game of tag, except all the children were 'it' and I was the one who had to run. I was darting through the village, running away from the horde of children as I slowed down and allowed them to catch up to me. I feigned being out of breath for them and slowly fell to the ground dramatically as they all began jumping over me and screaming.

"We got her!" they all cried in glee as I sat up and laughed with them all, some of the boys in the group tried to wrestle me as I tossed them around gently, then the girls joined in. It then turned into a giant wrestling match, with the ratio seven to one as I ducked and dodged most of them. But they all came running at me at once and pushed me over onto the ground. They were all giggling and laughed as I finally surrendered to them.

"Children," came a voice as they all glanced up, "It is not nice to injure our guests." Keras said with a smile as they all scurried off. Sheppard was next to him as he extended his hand to me, I grasped it as he pulled me up to my feet.

"Having fun?" he said with a grin as I laughed.

"Loads, Sir."

The three of us went and sat next to a tree, Sheppard was telling Keras about Earth when I heard a strange noise in my ear. It was my radio and McKay was speaking to us.

" _Major."_ McKay said through the radio. Sheppard slaps his radio and glances at me; I look at him with an equally shocked face.

"McKay? My radio's working."

" _Which is how I'm able to speak with you yes, do you have a second?"_ McKay asks as Sheppard stands up, he motions for me to follow him as we walk away from Keras out of earshot.

"Tell me you found the field generator?"

" _I found the field generator!"_ McKay said triumphantly into my ear.

"And obviously the off switch?" Sheppard asked, pointing out the obvious.

" _Better than that—the device is powered by a Zero Point Module. It's definitely possible the E.M fields been online for centuries_." Footsteps to my right alert me to Teyla as she comes walking up to the Major and I, she had been listening to McKay as well. " _As far as I know, only a ZedP.M is capable of powering it that long. I've shut it down, everything's working now_."

"So you've disabled the shield?" Sheppard asked McKay.

" _Just temporarily. I need to get the ZedP.M back to Atlantis, see if it's worth taking_."

"McKay!" I exclaimed in disappointment, "This planet is filled with children!" I hissed into my radio as Teyla nodded in agreement. "Mia is right, we cannot just take it. It is their only source of protection against the Wraith."

* * *

In the end it was no use, Sheppard agreed to letting McKay take the Z.P.M back to Atlantis. Teyla argued with him about it but the Major was stubborn and didn't think that the Wraith would show up. After the annoying other boy showed up I walked off, I didn't want to see or talk to Major Sheppard. I wondered around the village, seeing some of the children that I had been playing with earlier. But mostly I just kept to the outskirts; it wasn't long before someone came to find me.

"You have a very sour look on your face." Keras said as I turned to greet him, I shrugged. Keras smirked at me, "I can guess why your people are not happy about being here." I still didn't say anything as I met gazes with him. He glanced away quickly, "You do not approve of our ways." He stated as I sighed.

"It's not that I don't approve. I mean, I'm not condoning it or anything but I see the importance it plays to your people. Of the few worlds I have visited all have been prayed on by the Wraith, they live in constant fear." I frowned as I spoke, "To see your village happy, without the fear of a Wraith attack, it's heartwarming." I smiled at him as Keras tilted his head to the side slightly. "I lost my father to the Wraith only recently," I admitted to him. A solemn look came of Keras' face.

"I am deeply sorry." He said sincerely as I smiled softly at him.

"Thank you." He suddenly stepped closer to me.

"Among our villages, when the sacrifice has been done, we draw strength from each other." He motioned for me to give him my hand, "I will show you." I outstretched my hand as he grasped it firmly. He then tugged it so I stepped closer as he laid my hand over his heart. He then clasped his hands over mine as he shut his eyes, "Close your eyes," he said to me. I did as he told, my eyes shut. "And breathe in time with me." I heard Keras take in a deep breath as I followed suit. For a minute we breathed together, never thought this would ever happen, until Keras stopped and my hand dropped from his chest. Surprisingly I felt like a small weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

"Do you feel better?" He asked as I grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, I do." I laughed as I heard footsteps to my left. Ares was walking up to us, Sheppard was following close behind.

"Keras, it's time." Ares said as Keras nodded and left, walking back towards the village. That just left the Major and I. I assumed by Ares coming to get Keras it meant that the cleansing ceremony was about to begin; I all but kicked up dirt as I strutted passed the Major.

"Lieutenant." He said hesitantly. Something in me snapped, I spun around.

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?" I snapped as Sheppard nodded once. I took a deep breathe, and then let it all out, "Sir, what you just did, what you let McKay do. That was worse than the Wraith." He looked shocked. "We just handed these kids to them on a Silver platter. Didn't you even for a second think that maybe the Wraith might be watching this planet? Waiting to see if the field would ever go down? What if they left something here that would tell them if the shield went down? Did you think about any of these things?" I said, furious at him. Sheppard didn't speak; he just continued to stare at me. I scoffed, "You and McKay, you are the most arrogant men I have ever met. You only thought about yourselves, McKay wants to steal their Z.P.M and bring them all to Atlantis! We can't go around playing God here, just because we need power doesn't mean we should steal from innocent children who have no way to defend themselves."

With that I stomped back towards the village, I met up with Teyla who was standing not too far away from where the ceremony was about to take place. A few seconds later Sheppard appeared as he took his radio off and unclipped his p-90. He stepped up to the circle as I watched the cleansing ceremony begin.

A girl walks up to Keras, she is holding a bowl that has smoke rising as she uses a white feather a wafts it towards Keras as he breathes in deeply, inhaling all the smoke. Two other people draw two lines on his cheeks to accompany the long white line down the middle of his face.

" _Sheppard, it's McKay."_ McKay's voice made me slightly jump, as I wasn't expecting it. Teyla and I walk away a little, so as to not disturb the ceremony.

"This is Teyla. Major Sheppard is unavailable."

" _What does that mean?"_ McKay asked, confused.

"It means he can't come to the phone right now," I said dryly as I heard McKay bark out a forced laugh.

" _Very funny."_ He replied sarcastically as Teyla gave me an unamused look.

"Keras has asked him to take part in the cleansing ceremony."

" _That doesn't sound good."_

"Are you back?" Teyla asked him as I thought that was pretty obvious seeing as he was speaking to us.

" _Ford and I are back at the old city. I'm just going to put the ZedP.M back."_

"Good. I'll let Major Sheppard know." Teyla said.

" _I've parked the jumper outside the E.M field, so we should be able to leave as soon as I finish."_ McKay cut off as the next second Sheppard was yelling.

"Teyla! Mia!"

Teyla and I spun around as we watched Sheppard ran over to the Shrine, he rips off the skeletons arm, the wristband, I notice, is blinking.

"Major Sheppard has just found a Wraith bracelet that has already begun transmitting. We need that field returned as soon as possible." Sheppard hurls it onto the ground as Ares cries out.

"Stop him!"

The Major pulls out his pistol and begins firing at the wristband, the light goes out as I grip my gun tighter, ready to defend us as the boys runs towards Sheppard. They grab him and push him to his knees as I slap the radio.

"We need it on now McKay!" I holler into it.

"How dare you defile our remembrance!" Ares says with hostility.

"It was necessary," Sheppard says, trying to defend himself.

"Necessary? You broke the laws! You must be punished!"

"That doesn't sound good," I mumble to Teyla as Keras walks to Ares and places a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"That's not up to you, Ares." Ares pushes Keras away.

"Neither is it up to you anymore! You've had enough time!" he points at Sheppard, Teyla and I, "You must fix your ship and go! How long do they expect us to play chance with our lives? Every second a full-grown is in our village is a second we are no longer safe from the Wraith. They must leave now!" All around us the villagers holler out in agreement with Ares.

* * *

Keras had us leave the village without us getting burnt at the stake, we were going to meet up with McKay and Ford, apparently McKay may have broken the device in his rush so the shield wasn't back up yet, the Wraith could be here any minute now. We arrived at the ruins as Teyla, Sheppard and myself hurried in the tiny space to see McKay and Ford.

"Please tell me you have this working?" Sheppard asks him as McKay looks at him worriedly.

"I don't know what I did. These things are usually plug and play. This device must be using an older version of Windows."

"Get to the point," Sheppard grumbles.

"What I'm saying is there is a sequence to re-installing the ZedP.M which I haven't got yet." The leaves to the ruins rustle as Keras walks in.

"None of that matters now. Just grab what you can and come with me. Ares will be sending men behind us."

"What made the bracelet start broadcasting?" Ford asked Sheppard.

"I do not think it was anything we did," Teyla said defensively.

"It's possible it was like an emergency beacon that activated when the dart crashed. The E.M field's been keeping it quiet ever since."

"So it must have begun transmitting as soon as McKay turned off the field." Sheppard said in realization as I turned to him.

"Is this a bad time to say I told you so?" I said sarcastically as he shot me a glare. "Not now, Lieutenant." He hissed.

"Listen to me! We have to move on, now!" Keras cried, but no one really paid him any attention, we all knew that we couldn't leave the planet until McKay had fixed the field generator.

"We cannot do that," Teyla said to Keras.

"Keras," Sheppard began, gaining his attention, "This is hard to explain but we can't go anywhere until we fix this device."

McKay raises his hand as he is still looking at the device, "We" saying that it was actually him that would be fixing it. Keras shook his head.

"You'll just have to abandon your ship. You're risking your lives if you stay."

"This is not about our ship—it's about the protection of your villages."

"What?" Keras asked, completely confused.

"Keras, the reason our ship went down, the reason the Wraith dart crashed so long ago, and it's because of this device." Ford said to him as he pointed at the shield generator. Keras looked at the device in bewilderment.

"I don't understand." I stepped forwards.

"Keras," I said to him. He turned to look at me, "The reason Major Sheppard shot the Wraith skeleton, was because it had a beacon on it. When the device shut down it activated and alerted the Wraith to your presence here. We need to get it back up otherwise the Wraith will come and they will cull all of your villages." He seemed to finally understand, he nodded and turned back to Sheppard.

"What do you need to do?" he asked.

"We need to buy McKay as much time as possible," I said. Sheppard nodded at me as he ushered all of us out of the ruins except for McKay.

"You said Ares would send men?" Sheppard asked Keras as he nodded. "When they show up, we'll all head back to the jumper, we'll leave McKay here to finish, stalling Ares for as long as we can." He explained to all of us.

"What if they skip talking and go straight to shooting?" I asked him, as he looked conflicted.

"Well let's just hope it doesn't come to that." He said to me as I nodded.

* * *

 **As always, thanks for reading and let me know what you thought!**

 **REPLIES**

 **parmakai66** \- aw thank you, awkward silences are the best...

 **Adela** \- oooh claim her? That sounds cheeky a haha, well we'll see.

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 **See you all next week!**


	10. Genesis - Chapter 10

**Oh my god guys I can't believe we are up to chapter 10 already? That's crazy! Again thank you to everyone who's reviewed and alerted it means so much to me! For some reason I find this chapter really funny and we get a little taste of some more John/Mia in this one so I hope you all enjoy that!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

We only had to wait a few more minutes before Ares and his men showed up, his little worker bees held their bows up at us, Ford and I shared a look as we both gripped our p-90's, our fingers hovering over the triggers. "This is not the Well, Keras." Ares growled.

"Um, it's my fault. We just received word from McKay that our ships just been repaired. In fact, he's back there right now waiting for us. We were just saying goodbye to Keras," Sheppard said to him. Ares obviously didn't believe him.

"You think I am a fool?"

"No. I just think you're a little cranky." I wanted to smack my forehead; sure Major, just continue insulting the guy that has weapons pointed at us. "Look, if you want to escort us back to the ship, you can watch us leave." Ares looks from Sheppard the Keras for a few seconds before he steps aside.

"Lead the way," he mumbles.

I follow behind Sheppard, with Teyla following with Ford. Keras and Ares bring up the rear. It was a short walk back to the jumper, the whole time I kept my grip on the p-90, just incase Ares decided that he couldn't be bothered waiting for us to leave, or when they found out that McKay wasn't actually in the jumper. When the jumper finally came into view there was a strange sound, it didn't sound like a dart but it sounded alien. We all looked up as a large round ball was zipping through the air, it was spinning around when Ares cried, "It's the Wraith. We're too late!"

It moves over to the jumper as it scans it. Sheppard and Ford sprint closer to it as they raise their guns and fire on the device. The device suddenly zips away from the area.

"What the hell was that?" Ford exclaims as Teyla shakes her head.

"it was too small to be a dart."

"It was a probe of some kind."

"Probably came to check out the signal from the Wraith bracelet."

"And to see why they suddenly got a distress call." I added.

"We've got to take it down before it gets back to the gate." Sheppard said urgently as we ran towards the jumper, but evidently the boys blocked us, they aimed their bows at us. "Hey, boys. Let us take that probe down or we're all in deep trouble."

"Even if you were able to destroy it, more will come." Ares snapped.

"That is not true," Teyla defended.

"Why do you think they are here Sheppard? You. The wraith have sensed a crop worth harvesting and they have come to claim it." I watch as a boy hurries off into the jumper, oh boy.

"Keras, tell them that we got to take this thing down before it gets back to the Stargate." Sheppard hisses at Keras as the boy emerges from the jumper, shaking his head. Ares turns to Sheppard, glaring at him.

"Where is the other full grown?"

"Ares, there is a device that shields us from the machines of the Wraith. The sacrifices may have been—"

"He'll be in the old city. Go." Ares commands a few boys to go.

"Ares, listen to me!" Keras cried.

"You've let your fear of the sacrifice put our entire people in danger, Keras."

"You have been protected from the Wraith by a shield." Teyla spoke.

"We turned it off by accident," Ford said, though I probably wouldn't have said that.

"But the good news is, if we get it back up, the wraith will never come again." Sheppard explained as Ares smirked evilly. I didn't like how this was looking.

"There is only one thing I have to do to make sure the wraith never come again. Kill you."

"Well doesn't that sound great," I said sarcastically as Ford and I stood back to back with out weapons pointed out, Teyla was a few feet away from us, her weapon slightly pointed. Sheppard and Keras were the only two not holding weapons at the moment.

"Sir. I don't like where this is headed." Ford murmured to Sheppard.

"Easy Ford," Sheppard says quietly as he turned slowly in a circle with his hands raised. "Nobody's shooting just yet."

"Yet." Ford said ominously as my eyes narrowed at one boy whose arrow was aimed directly at me.

"And nobody's going to either. Ares," Sheppard called out loudly, "you have no idea what you're up against here."

"The weapons we carry are more powerful than anything you have ever seen." Teyla shouted at the boys.

"She's telling the truth," Sheppard spoke, "They do more then make a lot of noise, they will kill you." Ares shook his head.

"Your presence has brought the Wraith. All our ancestors' sacrifices you've undone. All because you refused to leave when you were told."

"Do you think we would have stayed if we believed the Wraith would return?" I screamed at him, "We are trying to help you!" Ares looked at me then back to Sheppard as he spoke.

"It's not that simple," he said. Ares smirked and nodded to one of the boys.

"It is that simple." It was lucky I had been watching otherwise I would have missed the entire thing. One of the boys fired an arrow at Sheppard, but Keras stepped in between them, the arrow hitting him in the shoulder.

"Keras!" Sheppard cried as the boy collapsed into Sheppard's arms. They fell to the ground as Ford and I instantly sprung into action, I aimed my gun at Ares, ready to shoot him dead as Ford aimed it at the boys surrounding us. Teyla had hurried over to help Sheppard with Keras.

"Sir!" I cry, waiting for the order to open fire, I knew they were children, but they were seriously about to skewer us.

"Hold your fire!" Sheppard ordered.

"He's as guilty as you are," Ares said. I looked at him in disgust as my finger hovered over the trigger; I had a clean shot at him.

"Ford, Mia?"

"Ready," Ford and I both chanted at the same time. Sheppard quickly glanced back, and our gazes met, when he saw that I had my gun trailed on Ares he nodded, and then something else flashed across his face but I didn't have enough time to figure out what it was as he spoke once more.

"We will defend ourselves! And believe me, you don't want that."

"Archers ready!" Ares hollered as the boys pulled their bows back tighter.

"It works!" A yell pierced through the tension, Ares raised a hand to stop the boys as another boy comes running up to where we were, "Ares! It works! The device works, the device they speak of is real. I have seen it."

"What?" Ares asked, astonished.

"McKay fixed it and the Wraith bird fell right out of the sky."

"That doesn't matter. They—"

"Ares," the boy said, interrupting him, "it works."

I hear sluggish running footsteps as McKay comes running out of the forest, panting heavily. He stops and hunches over, "You alright McKay?" Sheppard asks him as Ford and I slowly lower our weapons.

"Just trying to catch my breath," he gasps out. Sheppard motions to Teyla.

"Get the medical kit from the jumper," he orders as she runs off, he looks down at Keras, "You're going to be ok."

* * *

We arrived back on Atlantis the next day, after saying goodbye to all of the children and explaining to them the function of the device that protects them. We also buried the Wraith probe next to the device so that it would never go outside of the field. After a happy farewell to Keras we left in the jumper and flew back through the Stargate back to Atlantis. Sheppard landed the jumper in the bay as the cargo bay door opened and we all filed out. I was eager to head straight to my quarters and take a nice long shower. Teyla and I hadn't spoken to the rest of the team, I was pissed at them for what had happened, and my guess was Teyla felt the exact same. We came down the stairs and greeted Dr. Weir.

"Welcome back, I trust getting the children their Z.P.M back online went off without a hitch." I rolled my eyes and sent a glare to McKay and the others. The men shuffled their feet as Sheppard cleared his throat. Before Sheppard could say anything I beat him to it.

"We almost got skewered by arrows," I snapped as Weir raised her brows at me, "and we almost brought the Wraith to a planet full of unprotected children, but that all could have been prevented if McKay and Major Sheppard had just decided to leave the device alone." The men didn't protest, and I was slightly concerned I was about to be reprimanded about my attitude from either Major Sheppard or Weir, but neither said anything. "I'd be more than willing to stand here and describe everything to you in pristine detail but I smell like a pig." I said sarcastically as she nodded to me.

"You're dismissed, go and rest."

And with that I stomped off like a ten year old child, not one of my finest moments but Ford, McKay and Sheppard deserved to be chewed out by Weir with the stunt they just pulled. As I left the control room I faintly heard Weir saying, "I hope to God what Lieutenant Sumner just said isn't true."

I smirked slightly to myself as I dropped my gear off at the armory and headed to my quarters.

After I scrubbed all the dirt and sweat from my body I finally relaxed in the shower and enjoyed the heat as I felt my muscles relaxing from the mission. After that I wrote my report up on my computer and sent it to Dr. Weir.

* * *

It was a few weeks later; I was roaming the halls of Atlantis, heading over to the gym. Since the mission to the planet with all the kids, it had been tense between myself, Major Sheppard and McKay; we had been on four missions thus far, all had been uneventful and full of tension, except for the most recent mission to a planet called Hoff. These people were the most advanced civilization we had come across so far, yet ultimately they were naïve. They had created a drug that could essentially poison the Wraith, though, in a sick twist of fate when a person drank this drug the fatality rate was almost one-hundred percent in the human, but it also killed the Wraith. The people on Hoff still didn't realize their mistake and began administering it to their people, ultimately killing most of them. That was then we decided we would no longer play no part in their desire to wipe out the Wraith. And then we returned to Atlantis, where I was waiting for either Sheppard or McKay to apologize to me, I had told Major Sheppard that what he had done had been reckless and no better than the Wraith, and in the end they almost brought destruction to a bunch of kids. Though as of yet I have received no such apology, but what was I expecting, they were men. They probably didn't even realise.

I entered the gym, a few Marines were sparring together as I nodded to them and settled down on the ground in the corner of the room. I fished out my IPod from my bag, seeing as I had no way to charge it, I had limited uses with it. But right now I really needed to listen to some peaceful music. I stuck the headphones into my ears and pressed play as my Yoga music came flowing out softly. I then lost myself in my breathing and stretches.

It was only when I felt someone staring at me that I opened my eyes. Major Sheppard was leaning against the wall across from me, studying me. I untangled myself from my position on the floor and tugged out my headphones, "How long have you been there?" I demanded from him as I stood up from the mat.

"Half hour or so." He muttered, shrugging. I crossed my arms over my chest and pursed my lips.

"Any reason why?" I snapped as he pushed off of the wall. He strode up to me as my arms dropped to my sides. In a second he was before me, all six foot whatever, I was a tall girl, around five-eight or nine but with Sheppard standing chest to chest with me, I felt like an ant. And then I realized how close he actually was, I looked up at him, wondering why he was not adhering to military protocol. "Sir…" I said slowly as he grinned down at me.

"Call me John, Mia." I gaped in shock at him, what on earth was going on? And yet, I didn't protest. The way his voice sounded, and how his eyes were looking at me, I didn't give a rat's ass about protocol right now. Suddenly it felt very hot in my little corner that he had backed me into.

"Um, ok…John." I said softly, hearing his name roll of my tongue sounded like music to my ears. It was the first time I had ever used his first name.

"Mia?" he asked, one of his hands lifted and rested between my neck and collarbone, my body reacted to his touch, the skin where his hand was resting seemed to be on fire, my whole body began to tingle as I breathed out slowly.

"Yes, John?" I whispered. I felt his hand move to the back of my neck as his other hand came up and cradled the side of my face as he pulled me towards him. I saw his head bend and in the next second our lips met in a passionate kiss. I felt every inch of my being exploded, his lips were soft as our mouths moved together. My brain switched off and the only thing I could think was of his lips and hands on me. His hands wound themselves into my hair as mine snaked up around his neck; I pulled back, gasping for breath as his lips moved from mine, down to my jawline and down to my neck as he continued kissing and sucking. I heard myself release a moan of pleasure as he sucked and kissed a sensitive spot below my ear as a knot began forming in my lower stomach. I moaned once more as he moved back up and claimed my lips with his—

"Lieutenant!"

A loud holler made me shriek as my eyes sprung open as something smacked me in the face. I rolled back off my mat as my headphones were ripped out of my ears as I glanced around the gym. What. The. Hell. Just. Happened? I looked down at what had hit me; someone had thrown a towel at my face. Looking up I saw Major Sheppard standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips. I felt my face heat up as I realized I had just dreamt the interaction. "M-Major." I stuttered out as I rose from the mat. I didn't know how to react, what I had just dreamt had felt so real, and for a strange reason, I wanted it to be real.

"Look," he spoke as I jumped out of my thoughts once again. "I think we need to put the past behind us. I can see every time you look at me you want to punch me right in the nose, I'm not dumb." I went to protest that I didn't want to sock him in the nose, but really I did. I didn't get the chance to say anything as he spoke again, "I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "You were right, we shouldn't have taken their Z.P.M, it was a mistake and I almost got us all killed."

He extended his hand for me, to shake it. I was a little nervous about touching any part of his skin after what I had just dreamt, scared that I would feel the exact same as I did then. Instead, in a split second I grabbed his arm with my right arm, I brought my left arm under his armpit as I turned and used my strength the pull him over my body. He let out a cry as he hit the ground as I stood back and wiped my hands on my shirt. He was groaning and rolling over onto his side as he glared up at me, I smiled cheerfully at him, "Apology accepted, Major." He held his thumb up and grimaced.

"Good to know," he grumbled as I laughed at him. Sheppard, overdramatically, stood up from the floor, moaning about his back as he announced that we had a mission briefing. I let him lead the way as he scooted passed me, watching me closely to make sure I didn't take him down again as I followed him up to the briefing room.

When we arrived everyone was already there, I took my seat in between Weir and Teyla.

"Thank you for finally joining us," Weir said with a smirk, I nodded to her and smiled.

"I was just showing Major Sheppard some of my combat moves," I sent him a look as he rubbed his sore back, still grimacing.

"Teyla has informed us of a planet that she regularly trades with," Weir said as she nodded to Teyla to continue.

"They call themselves the Genii. They are a simple people, but good farmers and fair traders." She explained.

"Well," Weir said, "we're still months away from producing successful crops on the mainland," she stops for a second and glances over at McKay, who I now notice is shoving a sandwich into his large gob, "and we're heading towards a food shortage."

"I know," McKay, said with a mouthful, "it's getting desperate. We're almost out of coffee." He says as he holds up his mug and takes a chug. I roll my eyes.

"And I wonder why that could be?" I hissed.

"Well, maybe you should stop drinking eleven cups a day." Sheppard snapped at him.

"I'm just making sure I get my fair share before its all gone." He tried to reason as Ford scoffed.

"Sounds fair."

"I'm all for trade, but don't you think we should find a way to help defend ourselves?" Sheppard asked Weir.

"How can a bunch of farmers do that?" Ford asked skeptically.

"Well, maybe they can introduce us to people who can help. In the meantime, lets take care of the basics." Weir said.

"Guess it's always good to get to know your neighbors."

"Hopefully we can find some manners for McKay," I point out as the greedy scientist glares at me.

"The Genii Stargate is a short distance from their village. I suggest we walk. The puddle jumper may alarm them. As I said, they are very simple." Teyla explained as Weir nodded at her and to the rest of us.

"Sounds like a mission." She said as we all rose to leave.

* * *

Ford, Teyla, Sheppard, McKay and I arrived at the planet, it was a beautiful sunny day, Teyla mentioned that most days were like this on the planet so I didn't bring my jacket. Ford and I both wore our matching caps with my hair pulled out behind it in a ponytail. I had my tactical vest on with the p-90 and under that was my black shirt and combat pants and shoes.

"I could get used to this," I said cheerfully as Teyla smiled at me.

"Alright, where to, Teyla?" Sheppard asked her as he glanced around, he donned his dark sunglasses. We start walking slowly forwards.

"We should allow them to come to us." She said, glancing over her shoulder.

"Well, if you know where the village is, shouldn't we—" McKay started talking but Teyla cut him off.

"They are a simple people and they trust me, but that trust was hard earned."

"What is it you said they grow here anyway?" McKay asked her as Teyla smiled to herself.

"Many things, but they are best known for a bean known as Tava."

"What? Java?" McKay asked, confused as Teyla laughed as Sheppard leaned over to him.

"Tava," he said clearly for McKay.

"How will they know we're here, anyway?" Ford asked as Teyla pointed ahead of us.

"They already do," she said as I saw two people walk towards us. One was an older man, and the other a young girl, maybe the same age as me or younger. They were dressed in simple farmer clothes.

"They look friendly enough." Sheppard comments as we stop walking and wait for them to come to us.

"The eldest one is called Tyrus. I have traded with him on many occasions." She explained to us as the two reached us.

"Teyla Emmagan," Tyrus said as Teyla smiled at him.

"Tyrus, it has been many days."

"Too many," he agrees as Teyla turns to the girl. Up close she was extremely beautiful, with golden curly hair, fair skin and dark eyes.

"Teyla," the girl says, greeting her as Teyla motions to the rest of us.

"This is Major Sheppard, Doctor McKay, Lieutenant Ford and Lieutenant Sumner," she points to each of us as we nod in hello. Tyrus points to the girl.

"My daughter, Sora." Sora nods to us.

"You must be very proud." Sheppard comments as I fell my jaw tense. Sora smiles at him, flattered at his words as Tyrus looks at him sternly.

"She betrothed." Ford and I snicker at him as he fumbles over his words.

"I wasn't hitting on your daughter. I was just, uh…"

"They have come to trade for a share of your crops." Teyla interrupted him, saving him from further embarrassment.

"Yet you bring weapons." Sora said, I could hear the distrust in her tone.

"Only to defend ourselves," Ford added, as Tyrus looked to Teyla once more.

"You dress as they do of your own accord?" I looked over my shoulder at Ford as we shared a look as Teyla replied to him.

"Of course. Why?" she asked him. Sheppard leant towards her.

"He wants to know if you work with us, or for us." Teyla realised as she smiled at Tyrus.

"These are my friends, Tyrus. I would not have brought them if I did not think them worthy to be yours." Tyrus was silent for a few seconds before he looked to Sora and then nodded.

"We'll take you to see Cowan." Sora did a small curtsey and smiled.

"Follow me." She turned and walked off to towards the village, we all followed.

After a short walk we arrived at a small village, there were a few building I assumed were homes then some rather large ones. Sora led us to one of the larger ones that had a few people outside holding cups. I came to the conclusion it was some sort of tavern, we entered and it was pretty cheerful in here. Many of the Genii were sitting around drinking and laughing; they were all dressed similarly to Tyrus and Sora. Sora led us to a table near the middle of the room as I sat next to Teyla; McKay was next to me and Sheppard on the other side of Teyla. Ford stood standing nearby. I heard the door to the tavern open as I glanced over and saw Tyrus walk in, and I wondered why he had come in so late. I didn't voice this as the man I assumed was Cowan walked up to the table. He was a middle-aged man, with greying curly hair and was quite chubby.

"Greetings, I am Cowan, leader of the Genii." He introduced himself as Teyla nodded her head in greeting, she already knew Cowen so she did most of the talking.

"I bring my friends, they wish to become trading partners with you also." Teyla explained as Cowen looked over all of us.

"We're in a bit of a bind here," Sheppard began, Cowen's gaze settled on him. "We recently established a base on a planet and we're running out of food. We've got crops planted by it'll be a while until they can be harvested. We were hoping we could trade for a share in your crops."

"How many of you are there?" Cowan asked him. Sheppard thought for a second, I could guess he was adding up the Athosian's and the expedition members.

"Around the two-hundred mark."

"And what do you have to offer us?" Cowan asked as Sheppard thought.

"We have various trading goods, such as technology, a supply of advanced medicines—"

"And these medicines are potent?" Cowen interrupted him. Well, looks like we found something.

"They're capable of stopping bacterial infections entirely." McKay said.

"It would help us through a harsh winter." Sora adds from behind Cowan. Cowan sits at the table and crosses his arms.

"We will need more than you can offer."

"More?" Sheppard blurted out, shocked.

"I don't think you understand how cool this medicine is." Ford said.

"Well, leave if you wish." Cowan said flippantly as I looked to Teyla in surprise.

"Leave?" Sheppard exclaimed, he turned his head to Teyla, "I thought you said the Genii were fair traders." He muttered to her. Teyla sighed and looked back at Cowan.

"We have always been able to achieve a reasonable bargain." She smiled at him as Cowan frowned.

"You ask for much of our harvest. New crops will have to be planted in sufficient quantities to replenish our stores or it is the Genii who will starve. That amount of planting will require new land to be cleared. Clearing land is slow, hard work and it will lose us a great amount of growing time between now and the next harvest season." Cowan explained. I pursed my lips, seeing the sense in what he was saying, but I also thought he was being stubborn and lazy.

"Ok. What if clearing land was fast and easy?" Sheppard said as I turned my head with narrowed eyes, knowing where this was going.

"You know a simple way of uprooting the stump of a three hundred year old tree?" Cowan asked as he shared a look with Tyrus.

"As a matter of fact I do." Sheppard said casually as I slapped my forehead. We were honestly going to blow up a stump with C4.

"Show us this tree stump," Sheppard said with a grin as Cowan looked to Tyrus and nodded. Cowan rises from his chair as we follow suit, we are all heading outside, not far away was a rather large tree stump that some people had begun to gather around. I watched as Ford started setting up Claymores around the stump as I begun to get a churning feeling in my stomach. I walked over to the Major.

"Sir," I said to him as he glanced over at me, "I'm not sure Dr. Weir would approve of explosives trading." I said as I crossed my arms. Sheppard smirked at me; I could just imagine his hazel eyes glinting behind his dark glasses.

"Relax, Lieutenant. Elizabeth told us to make friends, and this is what we're doing." He tried to reason to me, I scoffed and opened my mouth to protest some more when he reached out and smacked my hat downwards. "Lighten up, you're becoming no fun." He chortled as he walked away from me and towards the people gathered around the tree stump. I pushed my hat up as I glared at his receding back as motioned to the villagers, "Cover your ears!" he hollered at them, as they looked confused.

"I don't understand." Cowan stated.

"It'll be quite loud." McKay replied to him.

"Come on, you're going to wish you did. Lieutenant?" Sheppard looked to Ford as he came running up to him with a grin on his face.

"Fire in the hole!" he cries as I watch the villagers all cover their ears when Ford presses the detonator. The C4 explodes and the stump is obliterated, once its over the villagers take their hands from their ears as they are all staring in amazement. "It's called C4." Ford announced as Cowan stepped towards him and Sheppard.

"If you can supply us with sufficient quantity of C4, we will supply you with the crop you require."

"So this instead of the medicine." Sheppard said.

"As well as the medicine." Cowen replies as Sheppard looks astonished, "Really? That wasn't impressive enough?"

"It is you who are in need." If it was me in charge, I would have told them to jog on and we'll go find someone else to help us, but I wasn't in charge, and Sheppard just can't take no for an answer.

"Well, I'll have to discuss this with my people."

"I'm sure we can come to terms. Teyla, thank you for bringing us these new trading partners. Please, stay as our guests. There will be a harvest ceremony later." Cowan throws his hands in the air as the villagers seem to rejoice.

"Wonderful." I heard Teyla say sarcastically as I smirk at her.

"I'll be back soon," Sheppard, announces as McKay says he's going with him and hurries after the Major. The three of us follow after the villagers.

* * *

We arrive back in the tavern building and the harvest ceremony has already begun. The drinks were flowing, all the villagers were laughing and talking, plates of food were being brought out as Teyla walked over to Tyrus and Sora and struck up conversation with them. That left Ford and I, we stood together as I leaned over to him, "Don't you think that giving these people C4 is a little reckless?" I asked him as he patted me on the shoulder.

"Relax, Mia. Everything will be fine." He tried to reassure me as I frowned.

"Why does everyone keep telling me to relax?" I hissed to myself as the Genii went about handing us drinks and food.

"Look, Mia," Ford said to me as I turned to him, "We came here to make friends, and that's what we're doing."

"By trading explosives? I'm sure that's illegal back home." I muttered as he laughed and patted me on the back roughly. I rolled my eyes at him as Cowan stood before the villagers.

"We give thanks for a plentiful harvest." He raised his cup up.

"We give thanks," the villagers chorused.

"May next season be as fruitful," Cowan turns to Ford, Teyla and I, "And to our new friends." Everybody drinks then, I was a bit nervous to try some foreign alcohol so I let Ford go first, I watched him take a mouthful as he suddenly spits it out, choking on it.

"Moonshine?" he exclaims as I grin at him as Teyla shrugs at him.

"I thought you were man enough," she says, the next second she bursts out laughing, as do most of the villagers. I chuckle as Ford looks at me with a glare.

"You try it then," he growled as I shrugged at him. I brought the cup up to my lips as I took a sip. It instantly began burning my mouth but I held it in, I didn't swallow it, for fear of it killing my insides. I smirked at Ford, acting as if I had swallowed the liquid as he glared at me slightly and turned his back on me. As soon as his gaze left mine I leant over my cup and spat it back out. Teyla spotted me as she laughed and took another sip of her drink, I thought she was absolutely crazy for drinking that stuff, but my guess was she had been drinking it far longer.

It was a few hours later, I was getting anxious, I was sure that it shouldn't have taken two hours for the Major to brief Weir on the trade negotiations and return to the Genii planet. I was getting worried and was no longer enjoying the harvest ceremony as my foot was tapping and I kept looking out the nearby window for any sign of the two men. "Shouldn't they have been back by now?" I muttered to Ford under my breath as he shrugged his shoulders at me.

"I'm sure they're fine, they're probably on their way back right now." He said to me as I bit my lip and looked out the window once more. A man caught my attention; he was running towards the building we were in. He opened the door and strode straight up to Cowan. He bent down and whispered something in his ear so no one could hear. Cowan looks at the man and nods as he walks over to our table.

"If you'll excuse me, I must go tend to a dispute." He said formally as Teyla spoke.

"Is everything alright, Cowan?" she asked him as he nodded and smiled.

"Yes, I'll return shortly." He leaves the house.

Teyla and Ford go back to chatting with each other as I sit there biting my lip to hell. I manage to spot Cowan stomping the way the other man had come running as my anxiety skyrockets, my hand grips my p-90. I had a feeling that I was going to need it very soon, something didn't feel right with these Genii. Most communities like this one, whenever they encounter weapons that explode or make a really loud bang they shy away and don't want anything to do with them. But the Genii didn't even seem fazed, and Cowan was too eager to get his hands on the C4.

It was a few minutes later when I noticed the Genii had all stopped celebrating and where whispering amongst themselves, and staring at us. I nudged Ford with my elbow, as he looked to me then around the room, noticing all of the stares. Teyla had also noticed.

"I'm getting a weird vibe all of a sudden." Ford muttered quietly.

"I agree. I have never seen the Genii behave this way." Teyla replied in a hushed tone.

"I think we need to get out of here, now." I said to them as they nodded at me as we all stood up together.

"Listen, we're just going to step outside and see if Major Sheppard and Doctor McKay are back." Ford explained to them as I see Tyrus and Sora hurry over to us.

"No one must leave. It is not safe." Tyrus said.

"There is a Wraith ship in the area," Sora exclaimed.

"Wraith? Are you serious?" Ford cried out as Teyla took a step towards them.

"We need to warn our friends."

"You will draw them to us. Everyone must stay indoors." Sora argued as I narrowed my eyes at the little blonde girl.

"Listen, we just want to take a look outside." Ford tried to reason with them, but they weren't having it. From what I could tell, they were stalling us, but for what? My best guess was that they had taken Rodney and Sheppard hostage or something.

"We can't let you. It's not safe." Sora said with a weak smile.

"We can take care of ourselves." Teyla said gently. I had enough of them stalling, I moved forwards but Sora blocked my way. She was significantly smaller than me as I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Move," I spoke darkly, "or I will make you move." Her eyes narrowed at me as I heard an unfamiliar beeping sound, I looked to my left at Tyrus. The man lifted his arm to his mouth.

"Receiving." Hang on a second; I thought these were simple Amish people. I turned my head to look at Teyla who seemed just as bewildered. "Understood." He said into the radio device as he turned to us, "Relinquish your weapons."

All around us the villagers pull rifles from out of thin air and point them at us, I glared back at Sora.

"You will not be harmed." She said simply as I scoffed. I pretended to laugh as I quickly drew my sidearm and aimed it at Sora's head. Her eyes widened slightly at my fast movements as I looked around at the villagers. Most had their guns on me, and some had them trailed on Ford and Teyla.

"Mia!" Ford exclaimed. I looked to my right as I saw one villager reaching for me; I ducked down and smacked his arm so that he dropped his gun. And using the same move I used on Sheppard this morning I had the villager on the ground, his arm bent and my gun on him. I glared up at Tyrus.

"Release us, or I'll kill him." I growled as he frowned at me. The rifles that were on Ford and Teyla cocked as I spared them a glance, they both had determined faces.

"Mia!" Ford exclaimed once more but it was too late. I felt a sharp stabbing pain explode at the back of my head as I yelped and felt my body crumple to the floor in a heap. I tried to stay awake, I could feel someone dragging my body but the pain was too much as I felt the encroaching darkness taking me under.

* * *

I don't know how long I had been asleep for when I finally awoke, my head was pounding as I surveyed the room I was in. It was a small cell, with a wooden bench in one corner and a metal door on the other, I was on the floor. I rubbed my head as I looked down at myself; they had taken my vest and weapons and left me with just my jacket. They had even taken my hat off of me, dicks. I rose from the ground slowly, stretching out my back as I rubbed my face. I was worried about everyone else, were they all in cells like this one? What was going to happen to all of us?

It was then I heard footsteps outside of my cell; I hurried over to the door as I pressed my body up against the wall. I heard some keys rattling as my door unlocked, it was pushed open and as soon as I saw the first Genii I struck out with my elbow. I heard a satisfying crack as he collapsed onto the door as I pushed him back into the other Genii. Two more Genii ran into the room, they went to both grab me as I kicked one in the shin hard as he cried out. The other Genii had grabbed my shoulder as I gripped his arm and twisted it as I kicked him in the stomach as he fell onto the ground. I turned back to the first one; he was lunging for me again. I pretty much clotheslined him as he crumpled to the ground choking. Three more Genii streamed into the room, I faced the first one but didn't expect one to grab me around the arms so that I was pinned. I kicked my foot out and hit one Genii as he stumbled back, the force of it toppling the Genii who was holding me down over as well. He let out a grunt as we hit the floor, his arms released me, I tried to get up quickly but I was then overwhelmed. Two Genii grabbed each of my arms as they pulled me up; I tried kicking and thrashing around but these men were much stronger. They dragged me out into the halls.

"Let me go!" I screamed as I planted my feet and tried wrenching my arms free of their grip. They just kept on dragging me, probably to my execution. I turned to the one on my right, "When I get free you're going to be the first one I shoot!" I screamed in his ear as they continued dragging me to a large metal door. Two Genii guards opened it up as I kicked and thrashed around some more, "You let me go you bastards! I want to know where my team is!" I yelled at them as I was thrown into the room, I stumbled but didn't fall as the doors slammed shut behind me. I looked around the room and my anger diffused, my team where sitting at a large table on one side. And on the other side were a whole bunch of Genii. Cowan was at the head of the table. I frowned and started stomping towards the balding man, intent on snapping his neck when Sheppard's voice called out to me.

"Mia," I halted as I found his gaze, "You should take a seat." He ordered, slightly grimacing at me as I frowned at him. He motioned to the empty seat next to him as I pursed my lips. I took a breath as I strode to the empty seat next to the Major with my head held high. I took my seat, as I looked at the Genii across from us I noticed that the one directly opposite me was the man who I had disarmed in the village.

"How's the arm?" I said smugly as he frowned at me and rubbed his arm. I turned to Cowan, "Why was I detained?" I growled at him, he began laughing and held his large stomach.

"Do I need to remind you that you were just dragged here by two of my finest soldiers?"

I bit my lip and shrugged my shoulders, I turned to the Major who was smiling at the Genii, hoping that I wouldn't dive across the table and try and attack everyone.

"What are we doing?" I hissed to him as Cowan spoke once more.

"Despite what transpired up on the surface—"

"Surface? Where are we?" I interrupted him but he continued talking.

"We are still retaining our trade relations, only now it's much different. We will still remain…friends." He smirked at me as I cocked an eyebrow. I saw a glass of water before me as I picked it up and brought it to my mouth. I then grinned.

"Seeing as we're still friends. I should inform you that three, no four of your men require medical assistance." I smirked into my glass as Cowan grimaced at me.

* * *

 **Did you guys like the little scene I threw in there?! Did I get some of your hopes up? And then i crushed them like a grape, mwahaha. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- That episode was done really early on, so unfortunately there is no bug :( maybe something like that will happen in the future though!

 **Guest** **64** \- Thank you and you are very welcome! Thank you for liking Mia so much! It makes my day knowing that people like her and the story!

 **Again thank you everyone for reading and everything else! See you all next week!**


	11. Genesis - Chapter 11

**Hi guys! So I kind of forgot it was thursday, who does that anyway? Another chapter! So this one has a bit more relationship development between our hero's and I can't wait woop! Hope you all enjoy this chapter and once again thank you to everyone who's alerted and reviewed! Means the world to me!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

That night, after everything had been explained to me, about our new alliance with the Genii, we were shown to some quarters. We were staying the night in their underground complex then Ford and Sheppard would return to Atlantis tomorrow morning to brief Elizabeth on the situation. I had been bunked with Sheppard, as Cowan had said that the Major would keep me in line as I had been deemed a threat. I didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or an insult.

"Have you completely lost your mind, Sir?" I exclaimed to him as soon as we were left alone. The room was small, with a set of bunk beds on one side and a table and chairs on the other. As soon as we had entered the room Sheppard had flopped down on the lower bunk.

"What are you talking about, Lieutenant?" he asked me as he threw an arm over his eyes. That riled me up; he knew very well what I was talking about.

"You know what I'm talking about!" I yelled at him. "What makes you think that they can be trusted? Do you know how dangerous this mission is? We could be killed at any moment!"

"Not if we bring back the C4."

"So that they can build _atomic bombs_!" I screeched. "You know some people have little voices in their head that tells them not to do stupid things. Did you kill yours with your amazing amount of stupidity?" I huffed as I sat down on the chair and crossed my arms. Sheppard sat up from the bed and looked at me.

"Look, I know this isn't the best of situations." I scoffed as he gave me a look; I bit my lip to silence myself. "But if we do this, we have got allies against the Wraith. There's a very good chance that when they get the C4 and the jumper they could kill us."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Or they could stick to their word."

"I highly doubt that, Major." I said dryly.

"You have to learn to trust me, Lieutenant. I have a plan."

"You haven't given me much reason to." I said softly. I froze; I hadn't actually meant to say it out loud. I slowly moved my gaze to him, hoping that he hadn't heard me. When I met his hazel gaze I knew that he had heard me, I felt my face heat up as embarrassment welled up inside me.

"Sir—"

"You're right," he cut me off. "I haven't given you much reason to trust me." I clamped my mouth shut from saying something else completely embarrassing. We were both silent for some time, until I stood from my chair and eyed the top bunk. "Well, it has been a very stressful day, a good rest could do me some good." I tried to say cheerfully as I headed to the little ladder.

I felt Sheppard grab my wrist as I halted and looked back at him, shocked at his boldness. I had to keep my thoughts about my daydream inside; otherwise I'd start blushing at his touch.

"I promise I wont let anything happen to you—to all of us." He corrected himself. I knew I shouldn't have, but I took it as a sign that the Major cared about me. Maybe not on the level I was hoping for…wait just a dang minute, what the hell am I thinking. Of course he doesn't care about me in that way, he was just saying it to make me feel better.

"Of course." I said with a smile as I felt him slowly release my wrist, one finger at a time. I turned sharply and headed up onto the bunk, I flopped down and sighed as I let my hair out and rubbed my scalp. It felt good to finally relax as I pulled the thin blanket over my body as I rolled over onto my side and shut my eyes. My last thought before I fell asleep was that I wished that neither of us were in the Military.

* * *

The mission was a go. We were going to infiltrate a Wraith hive ship and gather information about the hive ships so that the Genii, when they had built their nukes, would know where to send them. We were gearing up in a room, which had all of our weapons. I zipped up my tactical vest, strapped on my sidearm and clipped my p-90 back onto me. My hat was not here, which made me pissed, Ford had given it to me. Cowan; Tyrus and Sora are also with us as Tyrus holds a large rifle before him. "We've got to get in and out as fast as possible." Sheppard announced as he finished gearing up.

"I've been studying these plans all my life." Cowan remarked as he held a small pistol type gun.

"Good. Then we'll follow your lead—keep you covered during the breach and download." Sheppard said to him.

"Exit plan?" Ford asked him as Sheppard turned to him.

"Same as we came in. You stay with the jumper." Ford nodded.

"Yes, Sir." He agreed but I knew he was bummed about not being able to be apart of the team that went in for the extraction. Sora then voiced her opinion about how she should be going as well. I was all for it, maybe I could accidently shoot her in the leg so she'd be left behind. But Cowan told her that she was staying on the Genii home world, incase we didn't return, that was pretty cheerful.

After that discussion we headed out of the complex, back to the surface. I was climbing up the ladder that led outside, I almost reached the top when I saw a hand being extended down to me, I glanced up and saw Sheppard reaching down for me. I gave him a soft smile as I grasped his hand as he helped pull me up. Once everyone was out of the complex we headed towards the jumper. Cowan and Tyrus' mouths dropped when they saw the jumper as my team and I filed into it. Sheppard and I took our usual spots, he in the pilot and myself in co pilot. I checked behind me to make sure everyone was on board as I pressed the button for the cargo bay doors to close. I nodded to Sheppard as the jumper hummed to life and it rose into the sky. He directed it towards the Stargate, "Lieutenant, dial the gate." He commanded as I nodded and began the dialing sequence to the planet where the Wraith hive ship was.

We emerged from the Stargate on the planet, Sheppard immediately cloaked the jumper. I glanced around at the planet below us; it was dark and covered in large trees. "How many of these ships do you have?" I heard Cowan ask from behind us. "Just the one." Sheppard said slowly. I turned my head gradually to look at him, as to not alert Tyrus and Cowan of the deception. I hear movement from behind me.

"There." Teyla states as she points out the window ahead of us. It was covered in foliage, hard to see but she had spotted it.

"Have they awoken?" Cowan asked. I glanced around the area, trying to spot any Wraith darts or soldiers on the ground.

"Don't see any activity. Same as last time. All right, here we go-right through the front door." Sheppard steers the ship into a large opening on the side of the hive ship, as we enter I look up and around the hive ship. There were openings all over the place, it reminded me of a beehive. I grimaced at the sight as Sheppard set the jumper down on one of the platforms as we all rose from our seats. The jumper was still cloaked as we emerged from it. The sheer size of the ship was incredible as I looked around, I couldn't see any Wraith activity though.

We all begin moving towards the interior of the ship as Teyla moves into step beside me, I give her a reassuring nod as she smiles at me as we walk down some corridors. My anxiety was rising as the last time I had been aboard a hive ship I was a prisoner and my dad had been fed on for information. I just hoped the past wasn't going to repeat itself.

Sheppard and Cowan were taking point as Tyrus and McKay were in the middle and Teyla and I were on our six. We walked through the corridors slowly and cautiously, we were hoping to not walk into any Wraith so that the mission would go smoothly and the creatures would never have known we had been here. We entered a large room as we all break off and look around, I had to hold my stomach as I looked at all of the skeletons that were wrapped up in cocoons.

"Oh my god." McKay said in shock as I watch him bend down to look at a skeletal body on the ground.

"These people were cocooned for a later feeding. Some of them may still be alive." Teyla said as she stepped closer to one of the stasis pods.

"We don't have time for this," Cowan growled at Sheppard as he turned to him.

"They could be your people for all you know." He paused for a moment then looked at Teyla, "Alright, Teyla take care of this. We'll meet you back at the ship. McKay, Sumner you're with me." I move towards the Major as Tyrus hands Cowan the black wraith data device.

"I'll stay with her. Go. We'll meet you back at the ship." Cowan nods to him as he catches up with us as he directs us down another corridor. We walk briskly through the hive for a few more minutes until we stop in front of a closed door.

"This is it, but the ships plans I memorized did not include the details on how to operate the door."

"We try to blow this door, it's going to make too much noise." Sheppard said as he looked at McKay, meaning that he would have to figure out a way. Me being a Mechanical Engineer and all, I found the ship fascinating, I walked up to the door and touched it. The material was sticky and web like. I looked around the outside; there was no mechanism to open the door. Either it was on the other side or there wasn't one, which meant the Wraith must have some device to open it themselves. The door then opened slightly then shut as I jumped back, scared that a Wraith had tried opening it. McKay inserted something into the hole he had cut into the wall; he then pressed a few buttons on his data pad as suddenly the door opened. I threw McKay a grin as Sheppard looked inside then glanced at the two other men, "Alright, we'll cover your six. Go." He nodded to Cowan and McKay as the men darted inside the room. Sheppard and I took up positions on each side of the door as I aimed my p-90 down the corridor I was facing. I sighed and waited for McKay to do his magic, I really wanted to get out of here. This place gave me the creeps.

" _Major we have been discovered!"_ Teyla's voice shouts through the radio. Sheppard and I both share a look. Suddenly alarms begin to blare through the ship as I flinch slightly from the noise.

"We've got to get out of here!" Sheppard yells into the room to McKay and Cowan.

A few seconds later the two men came running out of the room, they reveal that they have managed to get the information they needed as Sheppard calls out to me. "Sumner you take point, I got our six."

"Yes, sir!" I reply, as I start running first. I could hear McKay and Cowan directly behind me. We ran back through the familiar corridors we came down, in the distance I heard some gunfire I assumed was from Teyla but it died down. As we rounded a corner, there were two Wraiths standing there. I sprung into action as I raised the p-90 and immediately fired on the Wraith. They both went down after many bullets as I motioned for us to continue.

We come out to where Teyla is waiting for us at the jumper, it was still invisible but I guessed wherever Teyla was, the jumper was.

"Hurry! More are coming!" she cried as the four of us sprinted into the jumper. Sheppard and I took our seats as the rear door closes.

"Where's Tyrus?" Cowan asks as I turn around. As I thought Tyrus wasn't in the jumper, Teyla looked solemn as she spoke.

"He was struck by a Wraith weapon."

"But he may have only been stunned!" Cowan exclaimed.

"By now, the Wraith will be upon him." She argued as suddenly the jumper was hit with stunner blasts. Cowan was silent until he realized that if we didn't go, we'll all be dead.

"Go." He said as Sheppard nodded and the jumper started flying. A few more stunner blasts hit us, but after another few seconds we were out of their reach and cloaked.

We arrived back on the Genii home world as Sheppard landed the jumper. We all filed out of the jumper. I spotted Sora and a few more Genii soldiers with her; she looked around at our group then realized that her dad wasn't with us.

"Where is my father?" she demanded as Cowan stepped towards her.

"He did not survive." He said to her as Sora's face changed from shock to grief-stricken.

"How? What happened?" she asked, sounding very child-like. I sympathized with her, I knew what it felt like to have your father taken from you by the Wraith, Teyla did also.

"I think we should find out." Cowan looks around at his Genii soldiers, "Take aim!" he calls out as Genii suddenly pop out from everywhere. My team and I close in together as we all raise our guns. I look around at the Genii, they have us completely surrounded.

"Cowan, I thought we were just learning how to get along." Sheppard remarked as he glanced around at the Genii. Cowan glared and pointed at Teyla.

"She killed Tyrus."

"No." Teyla retorted as she glared back at Cowan.

"By leaving him to die, you may just as well have killed him yourself."

"He shot the man we tried to save," Teyla said.

"It was a mistake to try and save anyone. It jeopardized the mission." I frowned at Cowan as he pulled out the Wraith data device. "We will keep this intelligence device," he said.

"You're the one making the mistake," Sheppard said in annoyance.

"And your ship, and whatever quantities of C4 you have in your possession." Cowan said with a smirk.

"That is all you ever intended. To use us." Teyla spoke to him angrily.

"And for your efforts, I will spare your lives."

"How generous of you." McKay said sarcastically.

"Guess the tava beans are off the table." Sheppard muttered under his breath.

"Your weapons." Cowan demanded. I held mine tighter when I spotted a few Genii stepping closer to us.

"No, I don't think so." Sheppard said.

"We have the advantage, Major." Cowan gestures around to all of the Genii soldiers. "This is what your father died for? In the name of people who would lie and steal from those they would call friends." Teyla hollered at Sora.

"I don't think they ever considered us friends." I muttered to the team.

"Well I lied too." Sheppard said as I glance at him with confusion. He smacks his radio on his jacket, "Jumpers two and three, execute."

Above us I hear the sound of two jumpers removing their cloak as I grin and stare down a few soldiers in front of me. "You didn't really think we had one ship, did you? Tell your people to get back and nobody gets hurt." Sheppard ordered as I watch Cowan hesitate. "Jumper two, prepare to fire on my mark." Sheppard commands as I hear the weapons console activate.

"Wait!" Cowan cries as he looks from the jumpers to Sheppard. "Do you promise to leave?" he asks him. Sheppard walks closer to Cowan.

"Well, that's the plan. Guess we'll have to go somewhere else to find our tava beans. But…" Sheppard reaches out and snatches the data device from Cowan. "I think it's only fair we end up with something."

"You do not want to make an enemy of the Genii." Cowan said threateningly as Sheppard stares back at him.

"You know what? Same here." We all begin backing away as I call out.

"You're on my shit list Cowan!" I holler. They obviously have no idea what it meant but Cowan still glared at me. I sat myself down in the co pilot seat. After we were in the air and dialing the gate I was the first one to speak. "Well that was fucking intense…"

* * *

After we had done our debriefing to Elizabeth and I had finally had the chance to shower after two days I headed towards the mess hall to grab dinner. I was dressed in my uniform, but minus the jacket, it was quite warm on Atlantis this night. Seeing as I was off duty I had left my hair down for once. It was a honey blonde, with a slight wave to it sometimes, but other times it was naturally pin straight. I was almost at the mess hall when a voice called out to me, "Sumner!" I stopped in my tracks and turned. Major Sheppard was jogging up to me, he had a boyish grin on his face and I felt my heart flutter at the sight of him. _Get a grip, Mia_. I scolded myself as I smiled at him in greeting.

"Evening, Major." I said to him as he reached me. He too had obviously left his jacket in his quarters, and he smelt like he had just come out of a shower also. I could smell either his cologne or aftershave and it was driving me nuts. What was it with men and cologne? Did they always have to pick one that smelt amazing? Did they want women to fall at their feet?

"You know," Sheppard started, jolting me from my idiotic thoughts, "We are off duty, you can call me John." He said casually as I tried not to freeze up. Was I dreaming again? Had I fallen asleep in the shower? This reminded me too much of my dream in the gym, I could feel my face heating up. _Mia no!_ I cried as I tried to get my breathing under control.

"Uh…" I stuttered as I met his gaze. "Ok," I said hesitantly. I didn't realize it but I had been holding my breath, I let it out slowly as he looked at me strangely.

"Mia," he said my name slowly, "are you…alright?" he asked cautiously as I felt my eyes widen in shock. _Stop acting like a love struck schoolgirl!_

"Yeah! I'm fine," I said quickly, I then laughed, "I'm just tired…and hungry." I blurted out. "I get really weird when I get tired and hungry, I was going to get some food as I'm hungry." My words got jumbled, as I was getting increasingly nervous around him. I met his gaze once more; he was looking at me like I had two heads. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I laughed softly as I glanced up at him again, "I'm sorry. I'm just—"

"Tired and hungry?" he interrupted and finished for me. I felt myself grinning at him as I shook my head in laughter. "Yeah." I bit my lip as I began walking again towards the direction of the mess hall.

"You know," Sheppard's voice called out once again as I stopped and turned, "I was heading to the mess hall as well. Why don't we go together?" he said slightly awkwardly as I smirked.

"Sure. A little company never hurt anyone." I said as he met up with me once more. We then walked in silence to the mess hall, when we entered it was pretty packed, mostly scientists who were quickly grabbing a meal before going to bed. Sheppard and I both grabbed trays of food, we glanced around and I noticed that the only tables remaining were the ones outside.

We took our seats at a two-seated table, across from each other and right next to the railing as I glanced out to the sea. The sun had set a while ago on the planet, it wasn't almost dark but it was getting there.

"So where's home for you?" he asked me as we both started eating our dinner. I smiled at my plate, then up at Sheppard.

"Arizona." I stated as his eyebrows shot up.

"Never met anyone from Arizona before." He said as I grinned.

"Well you know two people. Ford and I…well, Ford was born in Texas but his grandparents lived in Arizona so when they took him in after his parents died he just said he was born in Arizona." I glanced at him, "Where are you from?" I asked him as he shoveled a heap of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"Washington D.C." he stated as I smirked at him.

"Never met anyone from D.C before."

"Well now you have." he said smugly to me. We held each other's gaze for a few more seconds until he spoke again. "Ok, age you had your first kiss?" I laughed loudly, earning a few stares from people around us.

"Getting personal here, major." He gave me a look as I smirked and bowed my head; I lifted it and met his gaze, "I mean, John." It was the first time I had ever said his name, sans my dream. And it felt right.

"My first kiss…" I hummed as I tapped my chin, "I was fourteen, and his name was Freddie Dickinson." I admitted as Sheppard grinned, tossed his head back and laughed. "What's so funny?" I cried as he calmed down and was grinning at me. "Nothing…nothing. I just can't believe you had your first kiss with a guy call Freddie Dickinson." I pointed my finger at him and narrowed my eyes.

"Hey, Freddie was a catch. He was sixteen and had that long golden hair and blue eyes."

"So typical surfer boy."

"Exactly." I agreed as I laughed. "Alright, who was yours?" I asked him as he smirked at me.

"Mackenzie Bryant. I was ten she was nine." I shook my head and leant on the table, closer to him.

"Somewhere back on Earth, Mackenzie Bryant is reliving a horrific memory of having her face sucked off by a man named John Sheppard." I giggled as Sheppard rolled his eyes.

"It's better than Freddie Dickinson." I smirked at him as I picked at my food on the tray.

"Alright, the best memory you have from your childhood." He said as he leaned back in his chair. I pursed my lips as I thought about it. All of the best memories I had were between Ford and I. I thought long and hard, I was trying to recall a really good memory that didn't involve Ford, but it was pretty hard seeing as we spent nearly every day together. Then a memory popped into my head. "Ford and I were eleven, back then Ford was the biggest wimp you could ever meet. Honestly he was scared of anything and everything. One day, we were playing with some friends at the park down the road from our homes. It was getting late and as we were saying goodbye to our friends these typical school bullies came over to us and started picking on us. Ford and I were the outcasts at school. The bullies teased us because my dad was always away and a nanny raised me and Ford's parents had died when he was young so his grandparents raised him. Anyway this guy was picking on me, shoving me around and pushing me to the ground. I was getting so mad that I just wanted to punch this kid in the face but Ford beat me to it. Ford was only an asshole to me because he was like my brother but he was the gentlest soul you'd ever meet. He was liked by everyone, me not really, I was the loud and annoying one at school."

"Never would have guessed that," Sheppard said sarcastically as I shot him a look.

"Ford decked this kid so hard in the face that three of his teeth fell out. I was stunned, and so was Ford. These kids ran off crying as the main bully was searching the ground for his missing teeth. That was pretty much when Ford and I became the total badasses of the school. Ford also got suspended from school but he didn't care about that." I finished as Sheppard had a surprised look on his face. "Your turn," I said quickly, smiling as I ripped off the top of my yoghurt.

"I was thirteen, my brother David was sixteen." Sheppard began as I ate my yoghurt; "We wanted to do something devious before we headed back to our boarding school the next day. So, we waited for the ice cream truck to come by. David made me be the distraction as I went up and talked to the ice cream man. While I was doing that David was around the side opening up the back of his truck as he began shoveling ice cream after ice cream into a bag." I smiled into my yogurt cup as he continued talking. "After a minute the old man noticed and David told me to scram. We ran as fast and as far as we could, the old man chasing us down in his old battered truck with the tune playing as loud as it could go." I laughed loudly as I imagined a thirteen-year-old Sheppard running away from an ice cream truck.

"Did you get away?" I asked him as he nodded.

"Oh yeah, David and I cut down a few alleyways, and we were in the clear. We feasted on the ice cream until we puked." I laughed with him as I glanced down at my tray. It seemed that we had both finished our dinners. But Sheppard kept talking. "Your favorite movie?" he asked me, I didn't even have to think about it.

"A Walk to Remember." I said with a grin. He rolled his eyes.

"Typical." He muttered as I crossed my arms.

"Alright, what's your then?" I asked him with my brow raised.

"Ice Age." He said simply as I snorted. "What?" he exclaimed in shock, as I giggled. "You can't berate me for having A Walk to Remember as my favorite movie when yours is Ice Age."

"Whatever. Favorite food?"

"Grilled cheese sandwiches."

"Anything with Turkey in it." He replied as I laughed, I already knew that one, Ford had told me about his fascination with turkey.

"Favorite Music Artist?" I asked him.

"Johnny Cash."

"Avril Lavigne." I replied as he scoffed. "Now what?" I asked him with my mouth agape. He shrugged.

"Never took you for a punk kid." I rolled my eyes at him.

"I wasn't a punk kid, I just really liked her music, and still do." I grinned. I saw Sheppard look down at his watch as his brows raised. I looked down at my own and saw that a lot of time had passed since we had sat down. We both looked up at the same time as I cleared my throat once more.

"I should—"

"I better—" we both spoke at the same time, I could feel myself blushing as I tried to retain control. I had been fine up until now. He motioned to let me talk first, I smiled softly at him, "I should get going, it was a really long day." I admitted as he nodded. "Same here, I'm going to curl up in my bed and sleep for a week." He said as I rose from the table, I went to reach for my tray but Sheppard stopped me. "No, I'll get it. It's alright." I stumbled back; he had rushed towards me to stop me from grabbing my tray. And just like in the goddamn movies my foot got caught in the leg of my chair, I tried to correct it but I could feel myself falling. And also like in the goddamn movies I saw Sheppard reaching for me, I didn't fall very far, only for a second but his arms shot out to me. Although, it wasn't like in the movies where he caught me around the waist, no. One of my arms was flailing around and the other he managed to catch with his hand as he jerked me back into standing position. Then like in the Goddamn movies I fell onto his body, my hands trapped between his chest and mine as I felt his hands settle on my hips. I could feel myself about to hyperventilate from our proximity, I also felt my flush a bright red that I knew was so unattractive on me. "Um, th-thank you," I stuttered. I knew that we should be moving away from each other, if anyone saw us in this position they would think the worst. But neither one of us moved away. In any time in my life, I had never felt so safe and at peace then right now in John Sheppard's arms.

I felt my brain click, holy shit; I was standing in John Sheppard's embrace. _He's your commanding officer you twit! Move away now!_ I screamed inside my head. As if someone had lit a fire under me I stepped away, careful not to trip over any goddamn chairs again.

"Um, I should—I should go. I'm sleepy—I mean tired!" I bumbled out like an idiot. Sheppard just smirked at me; like he knew what had just happened hadn't been a mistake. Like he, _wanted_ it to happen.

 _Shut up Mia, of course he doesn't. He probably want's to run to the nearest transporter and jump off one of the piers!_

"I should go and uh, sleep." I pointed in any direction as I kept walking backwards. "Well, I'll see you later then, Majo—"

He cleared his throat when I went to say Major, I bit my lip as I tried to smile but it came out in a grimace.

"Right," I didn't trust myself to say his name. "Bye." I waved as I spun on my heel and walked swiftly from the outside back into the mess hall. It was completely disserted and as soon as I was around the corner and out of the view of the Major I sprinting. I sprinted as fast as I could away from the goddamn mess hall.

I ran almost all the way back to my quarters, when I got there I was exhausted. I stepped in as the lights came on dimly. I quickly changed into my pajamas as I settled into bed comfortably. I couldn't shake what had happened in the mess hall from my head. If I didn't know any better, I would say that Sheppard and I had a date. Albeit it was just two team members having dinner but it didn't feel like it, I was sure of it.

* * *

The next few days passed slowly, we had a few missions to some planets, establishing relations with them. All of them were equally as boring, I missed having some action, fighting and killing Wraith. Things between Sheppard and I were forgotten, we acted the same as we always did, but in the back of my head there was that feeling I got whenever I was around him, and it was annoying the hell out of me. Obviously I couldn't talk to anyone about it, relationships in the ranks was a no go zone. No fraternization of any sort, which made me bummed out even more. Of course I knew that nothing of the sort would ever happen between us, but it was still nice to admire the view once in a while. Teyla had caught me a few times, either staring at him or his ass. Either one was nice enough to look at. She had always given me a confusing gaze or she had simply laughed at me for getting caught once more, but she never said anything to anyone, which I was grateful for.

A week after we returned from the Genii home world, my team and I were called up to the control room by Rodney. We were supposed to have a mission today if this planet that Rodney found turned out to be worthwhile. I hurried up the control room stairs and into the little area, the Stargate was already activated and the M.A.L.P was just about to be sent though. Rodney was sitting at the computer monitoring the system as Teyla, Sheppard and Ford were standing around him. Weir came walking out of her office and to the computer as well.

"Anything?" she asked him as Rodney fumbled around with some controls.

"It's giving us telemetry." He muttered as he glanced up to the screen, I looked at it. All I could see was fog on the screen. "There's a weird energy reading coming from the planet." Rodney said.

"Is that all fog?" I asked him as he shrugged.

"I'm not getting any reading from it."

"So it could be dangerous gas?" Sheppard asked him. Rodney looked to him.

"I don't know. I just said it's not giving off any readings, all I'm getting from the planet is an energy reading, it could very well be a civilization."

"The M.A.L.P can't see through the fog or get any atmospheric readings from the planet. But if it is fog, that means there's water vapor in the air, ergo, breathable air and possibly an advanced civilization." Rodney defended. Sheppard was silent for a few more minutes.

"Is it worth checking out?" he asked him as Rodney nodded.

"Yes, I believe so."

"Alright, we'll go check it out. But we're suiting up in the hazmats." He ordered as Rodney bounded off his chair. The rest of us followed suit as we headed down into the hazmat storage to get suited up. Ford and I entered last into the room; Teyla, Sheppard and Rodney were already getting suited up as Ford and I went to the other side of the room to grab our hazmats. Ford was able to suit himself up quickly and had just left to go to the armory, I was having trouble zipping up the back of the suit, and my arms were too small to reach the bottom of the suit. I huffed in annoyance when I felt another pair of hands on the suit, zipping it up for me. I had a horrible feeling about who had just in fact zipped me up. I really hoped it was Teyla but at the rate my life was going it was going to be a certain Commanding Officer. I turned sharply, not wanting to delay any longer and met with hazel eyes.

"Saw you were struggling." He commented with a smirk. I reached down and picked up the helmet.

"Thanks, nothings more embarrassing then the inability to zip myself up." I chuckled as he motioned for us to head out. I tucked my helmet under my arm as he did the same as we walked across the hall to the armory to grab our weapons. I strapped my holster to my leg over the suit and shoved the sidearm into it, and then we all finally had to put our helmets on so we could carry the p-90. We all looked like idiots but if we didn't die from poisonous gas I could live with it.

"Alright lets head out." Sheppard ordered as we followed him out to the Stargate.

* * *

"I thought Atlantis was the only Stargate that could dial Earth?" I asked Rodney in the conference room back on Atlantis. We had gone to M5S-224 in the hopes of finding an advanced civilization but all we had found was fog. It covered the entire planet and for some reason the gate drew power from the fog every time it was dialed. We had returned to brief Weir on this find when he had revealed we could possibly dial Earth. Which had prompted me to ask that question.

"It is," he replied to me, which confused me even more, "but that's because it's the only one with an additional control crystal that allows and eighth chevron lock."

"It's probably a security measure." Sheppard mumbled across from me.

"It doesn't matter. As long as we have the control crystal, I can make the other gate work." Rodney explained.

"You're suggesting we remove it from out D.H.D and bring it to M5S-224?" Weir asked him with her brows raised in questioning.

"Yes."

"Isn't that risky?" she asked him.

"Is that even possible?" I chimed in, "Isn't the Atlantis control crystal only compatible with the ancient system here?" I asked. I had been researching up on Ancient Technology.

"Yes but I can interface it with the gate using the technology we brought from Earth."

"How?" I asked him, pressing further. He gave me a dry look.

"It's too complicated to explain to you," he said stubbornly.

"Try me." I snapped as Rodney narrowed his eyes at me.

"I think what the Lieutenant is trying to say is…will it break our own gate doing this?" Sheppard cut in before Rodney and I begun cat fighting.

"I know what I'm doing. Besides, the control crystal's useless without enough power."

"You said you didn't know where the energy on the other planet is coming from." Ford asked him.

"I believe it is being generated somehow in the atmosphere itself."

"The fog," Teyla offered. I watched Rodney roll his eyes slightly at her.

"Yes." He said dryly.

"You said it wasn't fog." Sheppard pointed out.

"Whatever it is." Rodney replied.

"Well, how do you know?" Ford chimed in; I had to suppress a laugh at the face Rodney was pulling with everyone asking him questions.

"I don't yet—but the fog, or the mist, or whatever you want to call it is the only thing around for miles and the energy readings were constant."

"Ok, even if you can pull this off, we have to assume that the Earth gate lacks a power source capable of establishing a wormhole back to Pegasus, so whoever went—they'd be taking a risk that it might be a one-way trip." Weir spoke from next to me.

"I'm sure someone will volunteer." Rodney said nonchalantly.

"You?" Sheppard offered.

"Believe it or not, I would only go if I knew there was a good chance I could come back. At least we can send a message to Stargate Command letting them know that we're ok." Rodney said optimistically.

"Well, we've gathered a lot of Intel—we should send it if we can, even if it's over radio." Sheppard said as I looked to Elizabeth at my side, she nods in agreement.

* * *

 **Again thank you everyone and I hope you enjoyed the little fluff in this chapter. I am so excited for the next chapter! As we have the rest of the Home episode and ohhhh my lord I cannot wait!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **parmakai66** \- oh i know, trust me this isn't the worst of it mwahaha

 **Guest** **64** \- Oh yes i love it too! She's a bad bitch i'll tell you that she has many more badass moments to come! Who wouldn't be jealous? Sheppard is her man...well not yet...


	12. Genesis - Chapter 12

**Hey everyone! I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, I remember having so much fun writing this episode of Home. Let me know what your reactions were to it!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

Rodney and Ford had left to go back to the planet and fix up the D.H.D so that we could try and dial Earth. I had, for the better part of an hour, been walking around the city. Thinking about if this could work or not, Rodney seemed to think it could, and we really could send a message back to Earth about how we're doing. But then the daunting feeling of someone going through the gate but never returning scared me. Atlantis had become my home; I didn't want to leave here, ever. I was having the time of my life here. I had nothing back on Earth, no family, no, nothing. Everyone I cared for was here, with me right now.

"Mia," a voice called out to me as I stopped walking and turned, Teyla hurried up to me.

"Hi," I said softly as she fell into step beside me. I could tell that there was something on her mind. "What is it Teyla?" I asked her, she realized that I had caught her out as she smiled at me.

"I noticed that when they mentioned the prospect of returning to Earth, you did not seem overjoyed about it like everyone else?" she asked me as I pressed my lips into a firm line, I had no idea that I had acted that way in the conference room. I sighed, as she spoke again, "You do not wish to return home?" I shrugged my shoulders, not really knowing how to answer.

"It's not that I wouldn't like to see Earth again," I said quietly. "It's just…"

"You do not see it as your home anymore." She finished for me as I nodded to her.

"I don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer or anything," I said, Teyla looked at me, perplexed, she obviously didn't understand my metaphor, "I have nothing worth going back to there. Everything I ever needed is here, my best friend is here, and I've got an amazing team who I get to go out on missions to other planets with."

"I understand," Teyla said.

"Not many other people would," I said honestly. "People would think I'm crazy for wanting to stay in a Wraith infested galaxy. But what I have here is much more then what I had going for me back on Earth."

I think out of everyone on the base, Teyla was the most likely to understand how I feel. She considered Atlantis her home now, even though she had left her home to stay with us. She didn't really have any family on the Mainland. Of course she would say that the Athosian's were her family, but I knew that she sometimes felt alone there, and she was doing this so that she could protect them from the Wraith. But she knew what it was like to consider Atlantis home; I don't think I could ever see Teyla going back to everyday Athosian life after this.

"I am sorry to have interrupted, you must have been on your way somewhere," she said after a few seconds of silence had gone by. I shrugged.

"I was just walking around, waiting for Rodney to call up with the good news." I forced a smile as Teyla grinned as she headed back down that way we came.

* * *

"So—are we, uh ready?" Rodney asked as we all stood before the Stargate. Myself, Rodney, Ford, Teyla, Sheppard and Elizabeth were all ready for the Stargate to dial Earth.

"What's there to be ready for?" Sheppard asked him skeptically.

"Well, it's a big moment and I thought, we haven't been in contact for some time—"

"We're ready," Sheppard cut him off.

"Go ahead," Elizabeth nods to Rodney as he starts putting in the sequence of chevrons as the gate begins to dial.

"Please work," I hear him chant as he pushes the central button. To all of our amazement the gate connects and a wormhole is established.

"Didn't actually think it would work," I mumbled to Teyla who was on my left.

"Stargate Command, this is Dr. Elizabeth Weir of the Atlantis expedition. Do you read?" Weir waits for a few seconds, as do all of us, waiting for a response. "I repeat—this is Dr. Weir, come in please." We all waited a few more seconds.

"This is Sergeant Harriman of Stargate Command. Whoever you are, this better not be a joke." I see that most of the team breaks out into smiles.

"No joke, Sergeant. I'm sending my personal I.D.C for confirmation." Weir smiles as she begins to enter her code in.

"Sorry about that, Dr. Weir. We're just a little surprised to be hearing from you."

"Understandable," she replies.

"The Iris is open—you're clear to come through." Harriman says.

"Thanks, but we're not ready to risk a one-way trip." Weir says hesitantly into her radio.

"You don't understand Dr.," comes a reply, I look to Ford, confused. "Things have changed around here. The Asgard are in the process of fitting Prometheus with engines capable of reaching other galaxies. We were mapping a mission to find out what happened to you."

"Is he serious?" Ford said ecstatically. I groaned internally, looks like someone will be going back.

"Are you serious?" Weir said into her radio.

"Yes, ma'am. Come through now and you could be back in Pegasus inside of a month." Harriman replied back.

Everyone looks around at each other. I had a feeling that it would be me that would be going back to Earth. I mean, Weir was the leader of the expedition, Sheppard was the Commanding Officer, Rodney, as he put it, couldn't go as he was needed here, Teyla didn't even know the planet, and Ford didn't have the skills to properly brief General Hammond, but I did.

"Well," Rodney clears his throat, "whose going?"

It was silent before I raised my hand, childishly, "I'll go." All of their heads turned to me as I stepped forwards to the gate.

"Wait a second," Sheppard objected as I waved him off.

"Don't even bother, I've already gone over it in my head, you are all needed in Atlantis, I'm not." I said with a defeated tone. I turned to face Weir, "You know it's true." I said to her. I could see on her face the conflict that was going on inside her.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course not." I scoffed, "but, I do know about the city, and I do know about the Wraith, I should be able to do a thorough job of debriefing General Hammond." Weir and I stared at each other for a few more seconds before she nodded.

"Go," she muttered to me as I nodded, I glanced at everyone and saluted Major Sheppard. I leant over and punched Ford in the arm playfully.

"Don't go killing any Wraith without me." He chuckled, I looked at Teyla as I dove forward and gave her a quick hug, and she laughed softly as I pulled back. I waved to both Rodney and Weir as I spun on my heel. "Sayonara folks!" I said cheerfully as I stepped through the gate and back to Earth.

* * *

I stepped out of the Gate into the familiar room of the SGC, I immediately saw General Hammond at the base of the ramp. "Welcome back to Earth." He greeted me as I saluted him.

"Thank you General…it's good to be back." I said the last part hesitantly as Hammond smirked up at me as I walked down the ramp to him.

"Let's get this briefing over and done with, shall we?" he guided me out of the room. Before we left I took one last look at the Stargate over my shoulder.

I briefed General Hammond, General O'Neill and the IOA on our situation. It took a few hours, some disapproving stares and worried ones when I talked about the Wraith, but it was finally over and done with. The IOA left the room, as did General O'Neill, which left me with Hammond as he strolled over to me. "Well done Lieutenant, that was a very thorough briefing. I'm sure over time we can assimilate some plan to destroy the Wraith once and for all."

"As do I General." I agreed with him. He then grinned at me.

"Well, I'm sure you're eager to get home aren't you?"

"Home, sir?" I asked, confused.

"To Arizona?" he gave me an odd look.

"Of course," I brushed it off, I had assumed he had meant Atlantis.

"Once you are ready there will be a car waiting for you on the surface." I looked at him strangely, as if this was happening, why was the General being so considerate to me? I shrugged it off as a Sergeant escorted me to the surface of Cheyenne Mountain.

* * *

After a plane ride and another car ride, six hours later I had arrived at my home in Tucson, Arizona. Granted I hadn't actually lived here for around eight years it was still my childhood home. The driver pulled up into the driveway as I climbed out, I didn't have any bags with me. I didn't bring anything other than the uniform on my back, which I was still currently wearing. The base obviously didn't have any civvies clothes there. I watched the car roll back out of the driveway as I glanced up at the house once more. I didn't have many memories here, most of them were in the house next door, at Ford's grandparents home. Their car wasn't in the driveway at the moment so they weren't even home. I'd say hello to them later, and probably give them a heart attack, I haven't seen them in around five years.

I walked up to the front door, obviously I didn't have any keys but I remembered the spare key used to be kept under the loose brick on the porch. I lifted the brick up and grinned when I found the key. It was covered in dirt as I brushed it off and put it in the lock and turned. The door didn't squeak, which was weird as I remembered it to squeak.

I placed the key on the little wooden table next to the door as I shut it behind me. Despite nobody living in the house it didn't smell as stuffy and dusty as I thought it would. In fact, it smelt quite pleasant. I walked a little further in, glancing at the pictures hanging on the walls. Most were of me growing up as a kid, many of them had Ford in them. Then a few of my dad and mom when there were my ages. I settled my gaze on one of my family, a few hours after I had been born. I was wrapped in a pink blanket, my face all screwed up and crying, my mother was holding me. She had the same color hair as me, a golden honey. It was longer than mine, and completely curly. Her eyes were a deep dark brown; luckily I got most of my features from her. My dad was sitting next to her, kissing her forehead. It was a nice photo; we didn't have many of the three of us, seeing as she died when I was two.

A loud clatter coming from the kitchen area made me jump. Someone was in here. I felt my heart rate speed up; I didn't have any weapons on me. I cautiously edged my way towards the kitchen, careful not to step on any of the squeaky floorboards. As I got closer I could hear more sounds, the sounds of a spoon hitting the counter, and then something being stirred. Then a glorious smell hit me, someone was cooking something in the kitchen. I was almost there; I was prepared for anything as I rounded the corner and faced whoever was in there.

What I was not prepared for was seeing my dead mother in the kitchen. Her back was to me as she stirred something in a pot on the stove. She turned slightly and I managed to see her face. Although I had no memories of her at all, I recognized her from the photos I had seen all my life.

"Mom?" I said, my voice shaking. She stopped stirring as she looked over her shoulder. She didn't look as young in the photos, she had been thirty-two when she had died. If I had to guess she was around fifty-seven, the age she would be had she not died.

"Oh hi honey, I didn't hear you come in." She said to me as she went back to stirring. How was this possible? She is dead, or was. This has got to be some joke. "Dinner will be ready in a few hours, you came a little early." She announced as she walked over to the fridge to grab something and walked back to the stove. I was still rooted to the spot, how on Earth was my dead mother alive? Suddenly I heard footsteps and whistling as another dead person came walking around the corner.

"Hi Pumpkin," my dead-undead father said to me as he walked into the kitchen and kissed me on the forehead.

"Dad!" I exclaimed in shock, I couldn't believe it. My dad walked over to my mom as he kissed her on the forehead and flicked out the newspaper he had been holding in his hands. I felt like I was about to go crazy, how could this be real? It couldn't be! It felt real; I quickly pinched myself on the arm. I winced from the pain. I rubbed my eyes; I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "This can't be real." I mumbled, loud enough for them both to hear. My mom turned the stove off and leant on the counter facing me. My dad stopped reading and also looked up at me.

"What are you talking about, honey?" Mom asked me.

"You aren't real!" I exclaimed loudly. My parents looked at each other then they both laughed.

"Of course we are, Mia." Mom said with a smile. I shook my head violently.

"No! No, you're not!"

"Mia—" my dad begun but I cut him off.

"You're both dead!" I cried. They both looked at me strangely as I continued. I pointed at mom. "Mom, you died when I was two!" I then looked at dad; I felt my heart pull at me. He looked exactly the same the last time I saw him, "Dad," I choked up, "you only died three months ago. On Atlantis, remember?"

"Atlantis?" Dad questioned.

"Yes!" I hissed, glad that he was remembering, even though he was dead.

"Honey where do you come up with these things?" he said, effectively silencing me. I gaped with my mouth dropped.

"No! Look, you were a Colonel in the Marines, you helped lead an expedition to the Pegasus Galaxy but we were attacked by creatures called the Wraith who took us prisoner and one of their queens killed you!"

"Us?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm a Lieutenant in the Army!" I cried out.

"The Army?" my Mom said, aghast. "Why would you ever join the Army?" I frowned in confusion at her. I looked down and let out a small scream, I was no longer wearing my uniform. I was wearing a mid length dark blue sundress. What happened to my uniform? "You should write a book with your imagination." Mom said.

"Ugh!" I exasperated as I fell dramatically into one of the chairs. I held my face in my hands, my dad went back to reading the paper as Mom leant on him slightly and read over his shoulder. "I just wish you'd…" I trailed off; I had finally realized what this was. This was my wish, the one thing I had wished for since I could remember. My mom alive and my dad out of the Marines, I wished for a happy family, and this was it. At this realization I slowly lifted my head, watching my parents interact. I had always pictured my mom as a really good cook, and my dad…

"Dad are you a Carpenter?" I asked him suddenly, he didn't even lift his eyes from the paper.

"You know I am, why?" I didn't reply to him. I could feel myself smiling as tears came to my eyes; this is what I had always wanted, my family together. In my wish I had imagined my dad being a Carpenter. But how the hell was all of this possible? I heard the front door then suddenly slam shut and running footsteps could be heard, as well as a voice.

"Mommy! Mommy!" a little boy, around the age of six came running into the kitchen. He had dark messy hair and a pair of blue eyes that looked familiar. What shocked me was that he came running right up to me with a piece of paper in his hand. "Mommy, look what I drew at school today!" he reached up to me. I opened my mouth twice, and closed it each time.

"Are you talking to me?" I pointed at myself as the boy laughed.

"Mommy, you are silly." I slowly took the paper out of his hands; it was a crude family picture if I had to guess.

"Grandpa!" he suddenly cried out as I watched my dad hurry around the kitchen so that the boy could run into his arms. Dad picked him up, "Hey, buddy!" he cried as I sat in the chair in absolute shock.

 _I have a fucking child?_

I looked back down at the picture, there were three figures. The one in the middle was small and above it had the name Alex. Then the one on the left I assumed to be myself as it had yellow hair and above it was 'Mommy' then on the other side was another figure with 'Daddy' above it.

"Daddy?" I whispered to myself in shock. I looked up at my dad, who was still holding Alex. Well, I assumed his name was Alex from the drawing. Well, now I knew why his eyes looked familiar, they were the same color as my dads and mine. So who the hell was Alex's dad?

"Sorry we're late," a completely new voice said, but I recognized it immediately, "The traffic is horrible this time of day."

"It's fine, John. Mia got in early as well." I heard my mom say. I turned in my seat and the next thing I knew a kiss had been planted on my lips. Before I could do anything he pulled back and I was able to see just who had kissed me. Even though I knew who it was from the voice.

John _bloody_ Sheppard stood next to my chair, grinning down at me.

"Hi." He said simply.

I think I was going to pass out now.

* * *

"Dinners ready!" my mom called from the kitchen. I was sitting in the front room playing with Alex, we were messing around with the building blocks when he heard his Grandmas voice, and he dashed out of the room as I slowly followed. I came to the doorway of the kitchen when I stopped; I peered round the corner slowly. I saw my mom setting down each of the plates as my dad was already sitting at the head of the table. A grin spread on my face when I watched John pick up Alex and set him in his seat, they were talking together and laughing when my dad added his two cents to their conversation. Glancing around at all of them again, I realized that this had been my wish. I wanted a family, and this was it.

Something caught my eye on one of the little tables in the hallway, it was a photo, one that I had never seen before. I reached for the frame as I held it up. It was a family photo of myself, Alex and John. We were in an aeroplane. I was sitting in the seat by the window, with Alex in my arms as I looked like I was tickling him as the little boy giggled. John's face took up the side of the photo as he was grinning into the camera. I laughed quietly to myself as I set the picture back down onto the table.

"Mia!" my mom called, setting down the last plate. I entered the kitchen fully.

"I'm here, sorry." I said sheepishly as I took my seat next to her. Opposite me was John and next to him was Alex. During dinner we all talked about nonsense and it was pleasant. I felt so peaceful sitting here.

After dinner I helped my mom wash the dishes, she was washing them and I was drying them with a towel. I glanced outside through the glass doors and spotted my dad and John leaning against the railing. Dad was smoking a cigar, which I never thought I'd see in a million years; Alex was running around with his toy airplanes.

"So when do you think John and you will have another baby?" My mom said suddenly. I almost dropped the plate I had been holding from shock.

"What?" I squeaked out. She laughed and handed me another plate to dry.

"You know Alex has been asking for a little brother or sister." I didn't know how to reply to that statement, it was weird to be speaking to my dead mother about babies. I mean, I had been a baby last time I had seen her, this was just too weird. I knew none of this could be real, but I didn't care, I would much prefer this over what I have now. I yawned loudly as I covered my mouth as my mom clicked her tongue.

"I forgot, you must be so tired, sweetie." She brushed the side of my face as I shrugged at her. I heard the glass door open as we both looked over our shoulders, I saw Alex trudging over to us.

"Mommy," he mumbled rubbing his eyes sleepily. I glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw it was around seven thirty at night. He reached me and held out his arms, wanting me to pick him up. I hesitated for a second; I had never held a child in my life, what if I dropped him? I bent down and lifted him up as he attached himself to me, his arms latched around my neck and his legs went around my stomach. My mom brushed his hair back from his face.

"Why don't you guys stay here tonight?" she offered as she kissed him on the cheek. I nodded to her as she motioned upstairs, "his room is still being painted so he'll have to sleep with you and John tonight."

"Ok," I said nervously.

"Go and get some sleep, Mia." She kissed me on the cheek as I nodded once again and headed towards the stairs. I tilted my head to look at Alex; he was already fast asleep on me. I ascended the stairs gently, as to not wake the sleeping child in my arms. When I got to the top I actually had no idea where I was going, what room would we be in? If I had to guess, it would be my old room. I turned right and walked down the hall to the door on the left. I opened it and sighed in relief when I saw a large bed and a dresser and pictures around the room. I untangled myself from Alex as I set him on the bed as I went to the dresser. I found some child pajamas as I quickly changed him and tucked him into bed.

I heard the door open behind me as I turned, John stood there. Ok, having my dead parents alive is strange, having a child is strange, having said child with John Sheppard, now that was the icing on the cake.

He walked over to me as I smiled at him nervously; I had no idea what to do. He bent his head slightly and his lips met mine softly. I felt his hands come up and caress my face as mine went to his waist and settled there. He pulled back as he gazed into my eyes, from that look all I could see was complete adoration, it made my heart flutter as he did that smirk he always did. I felt myself smiling at him as he leant down again, this time I met him halfway as I lost myself in the kiss with him.

We both pulled back as I frowned and looked around, everything seemed to be getting misty. I stepped back from John, as he seemed to be frozen in spot.

* * *

Everything was dissolving from my gaze and then suddenly I was back in the SGC, I looked around, noticing that everyone else was here. Ford was behind me, Teyla to my right, Sheppard in front of me and then Weir and General Hammond at the base of the ramp.

"Lieutenant Sumner was a difficult task." General Hammond said to me. Everyone turned to me as I looked at Hammond, completely confused. What the hell is going on? "You had no desire whatsoever to return to Earth." He said sternly. I met gazes with Sheppard as he frowned in confusion as well. "Without that desire we were unable to fabricate a reality for you. That meant we had to allow you to create your own. Of course this meant you knew what you were seeing wasn't real." Hammond said, I was still unclear about everything.

"Well, having dead parents suddenly alive didn't seem all that real to me," then something clicked inside me. When he had said desire, that's exactly what my 'reality' was.

"You used my wish." I revealed, and he nodded.

"But how can you do all this?" I asked him.

"We are the mist, and every time the gate is activated, lives are lost. Over time, explorers have come and gone, completely unaware of our existence. Sacrifices are made to ensure our secrecy, but when you came back we grew concerned. To learn your intentions, we had no choice but to enter your minds. When we discovered what you were about to do, we were forced to take preventative measures." Hammond explained, or, whoever the hell he was.

"But you just said you let others come and go. Why not allow us to do the same?" Weir asked him desperately.

"Your desire to return to your homeworld was too strong. The amount of energy required to gate to another galaxy would have killed millions of our kind."

"So we dialed the gate?" Ford asked him, thinking the worst.

"You never dialed the gate," I reeled back in shock, so everything we thought on the planet had been fake. "You just imagined you did. You're unconscious even now on the planets surface."

"So none of this is real," I rolled my eyes at Rodney, "the cute brunette, of course I should have known! How do you go from, 'you're a pig, but I like your cat to', to 'I missed you'?"

"We lacked a sophisticated understanding of your world. As a result, the illusions we created from your thoughts were ultimately flawed." Hammond said.

"The dead people were a, dead giveaway." Sheppard remarked as Rodney looked from Sheppard to me.

"What's with you two and dead people?" he muttered.

"If you'd just told us, maybe we could—" Weir began talking by Rodney cut her off.

"Whoa, wait. I just realized something," he turned to Hammond. "You're saying that our unconscious bodies are still on the planet."

"Yes," he said simply.

"Yeah well so, we need food, we need water. I mean we need food." Rodney stammered out in a hurry.

"What he's saying is we wont live long in this state," Sheppard deciphered.

"Then I suggest you make the most of the time you have left." Hammond remarked.

"What?" I gasped.

"You're killing us in order to save yourselves." Weir said angrily.

"In order to save millions of our kind. I believe you would do the same," he said directly to Weir.

"If we do not go back, our friends will come looking for us," Teyla said from behind me.

"Others of your kind?" Hammond asked.

"They'll show up. What are you going to do, kill them too?" Sheppard barked out. Hammond looked at each of us.

"More will come." Ford said darkly.

"Sooner or later they'll figure out how to access the gate; then millions of your kind will die." I could see that this was getting through to this Hammond. "We don't leave people behind. If you were really General Hammond, you'd know that." Sheppard said.

"But if you allow us to leave here, we promise we will never return—ever. You will not have to fear us ever again—I give you my word." Weir said.

"How can you make such a promise when you so desire to return home?" Hammond asked each of us. Sheppard was the one to speak first.

"Sure, we'd like to go home. But we're not willing to kill millions of your kind to do it. Now you've been in our heads, you're in our heads right now. You should know we meant that."

"You know that I have no desire to return to Earth, so out of everyone you can trust that I would leave." I offered. I got a glare from Rodney for saying that; I smirked at him as I turned my attention back to the Hammond.

"I understand." Was what he said.

Then suddenly I was waking up on the hard floor of the planet. I glanced around, everyone seemed to be waking up as well as everyone got to their feet. I looked down and saw that I was no longer in the blue summer dress, but back in my uniform. I stood up as Rodney spoke, "I don't mean to sound negative because that would be, you know, so not me, but uh, how do we know this isn't a double fake out? I mean, how do we know that this is—"

"This is the reality," Hammonds voice echoed all around us, "You have my word."

"I'm starving. Got to be right." Rodney said as I snorted at him.

"Wonder how long we've been out?" Sheppard asked as I suddenly balked.

"I peed in my reality," I looked down, "I hope that doesn't mean I peed myself." I patted my legs down as Teyla and Ford laughed at me. Once I felt everything was dry I breathed a sigh of relief that I hadn't soiled myself.

"I need to get the control crystal out of the D.H.D. Shouldn't be more than a few minutes," Rodney walks over to the D.H.D and bend down and opens up the console.

"I'll give you a hand," Ford offered as he walked up to him.

"Thank you, for trusting us," I hear Weir say as I look over at her, she was staring up into the sky as she spoke to the mist. "Rodney be careful with that," she comments, "I want to make sure we can get back home."

"Uh, you mean Atlantis." Rodney tries to correct her.

"I think that's what she meant," Sheppard grumbled to him. Weir and I shared a look, she knew how I felt, Atlantis was home, and Earth wasn't anymore.

"How do I know she wasn't suggesting we pull a double fake out of our own and dial Earth?" Rodney protested.

"Forget the double fake out—get the damned crystal!" Sheppard argued with Rodney.

* * *

We arrived back on Atlantis, with the undamaged control crystal as Rodney went back to putting it into the D.H.D. The rest of us in the meantime had to report to the infirmary to be checked over by Carson to make sure we hadn't suffered any damage at all from being unconscious. When we arrived back we had found out we had only been gone six hours. It had felt much longer in our realities, for me a whole day had gone by.

I was the last one to be put under the scanner; everyone else had been given a clean bill of health and had gone on their merry ways. I was waiting for Carson to come back with my blood results when the scanner finished and the technician working on it told me that my results were the same as everyone else, completely fine. I sat up and moved on over to the bed next to the scanner as I waited for Carson. It was a few minutes later when he returned with his usual charming smile.

"Well, love, you are all clean. No hidden nasty's in your blood." He said cheerfully as I thanked him quietly. He seemed to sense that there was something upsetting me, "everything ok?" he prodded my knee gently, it made my knee kick out which made me laugh. I sighed as I met his kind blue gaze.

"Yeah, I just can't stop thinking about what happened. It all felt so real." I mumbled to him. Carson set down his tablet on the table and hopped up on the bed next to me.

"It must've been tough," he hummed. Carson laid one of his hands on top of mine in a caring gesture. "But it must've been nice ta see Earth after so long, made up reality or not." I sighed.

"Yeah it was a real joyride." Carson obviously didn't know the extent of my reality; I wanted to keep it a secret. My reality had been a desire that I had harbored for so long; I never imagined I would ever be able to live it, even for just a few hours. I hopped off the bed and flashed Carson a smile, "I'm going to head out for dinner. I'll see you later Carson." I waved goodbye to the Scottish doctor as I headed out of the infirmary.

I didn't keep to my word though; I wasn't exactly hungry after everything had gone down on the planet. I was in a horrible mood, and I hated it. I was mad at the creatures that had created my reality, they had shown me something that I had desperately wanted for years, and then ripped it away from me like a Band-Aid. Instead I headed out to the pier spot that I normally go to, the only person who would know to look for me there would be Ford. But he would be too busy doing whatever he normally does after coming back from a mission.

When I arrived at the pier the sun was just beginning to set as I had a nice view from where I was. There was a small bench as I sat myself down and gazed out across the ocean. I was able to watch the sky change colors, from red and orange, to purple, pink and then gradually start to get darker and darker. As the sun got lower and lower to the horizon, the water changed to a fiery red and orange.

A few minutes after that I heard the door slide open behind me, I didn't turn around, knowing full well that I had to be Ford coming to check up on me. I heard the heavy footfalls of the combat boots on the floor as they neared me. I saw a figure step in front of the bench then sit down next to me. To my shock it wasn't Ford, it was Major Sheppard.

I looked at him in confusion as he met my gaze; I was silently asking him how he had known to find me. "Ford told me where I might find you," he admitted, shrugging one shoulder.

"He send you to come check up on me?" I asked him softly, a hint of annoyance in my voice. Ford had known of my wish, hell he had been the shoulder for me to cry on when things got tough growing up. It would make sense that he would've known what had transpired in my false reality.

"No." I turned to look at him once more.

"Then why come find me?" I asked him. This was just getting too weird. First the dinner incident, now he was checking up on me?

"Because I wanted to make sure you are ok," I furrowed my brows at him, "You are a member of my team. Carson said you were really out of it in the infirmary and he was concerned about you. He told me you were going to the mess hall, I checked and you weren't there. I asked Ford where you might have gone and he said my best bet was to look for you here." I turned away and crossed my arms over my chest. "Why did you lie to Carson?" he asked me after a minute of silence. I didn't reply to him, I heard him sigh, "Mia."

"Because I was trying to avoid this exact conversation!" I snapped at him, standing up from the bench. "Every time something happens that is family related everyone acts like I'm going to have a mental break down."

"Well, lying to the Doctor doesn't exactly help." He said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, I had to endure a reality where both of my parents were alive. And yes I had no desire to return to Earth, is that such a crime?"

"No—"

"Well then I don't see what the big deal is." I huffed in anger as Sheppard stood from the bench also, probably getting mad at my attitude.

"The big deal is that it's not everyday someone experiences what we did. Having to see what we did, we have to look out for each other."

"I can look after myself, I have been for eight years." I said stubbornly. I glared at him and he glared back. We stood glaring at each other before he sighed and shook his head.

"Follow me." He ordered as he left the pier. I bit my lip, wondering if I should follow him, but in the end my curiosity got the best of me and I followed him.

* * *

We ended up at the gym, it didn't really surprise me, and I spent most of my time here. He walked in as I watched him pick up a pair of bantos sticks and then face me. I sighed, crossed my arms and stood rooted to the spot, "I don't think hitting the crap out of each other is going to make me feel better." I grumbled as he motioned to other set of sticks.

"You'd be surprised." Finally I gave in as I stripped off my jacket and tossed it to the other side of the room, I picked up the other bantos sticks as I readied myself.

"You know," I smirked at him, "Teyla and I are evenly matched in these, if you can't beat Teyla then you have no chance of beating me."

"I'll take my chances." He replied, smirking at me. I shrugged my shoulders, as he normally did to me as I spoke.

"Your funeral." I commented.

And with that I lunged for him, I surprised him as I had him on the defense from the start. I hammered my sticks onto his, and he had to move fairly quickly to keep up with me. The familiar sharp sounds of the sticks connecting threw me into a trance, and I started moving on autopilot, I was able to hit him a few times on his body, which pleased me, as I was able to live up to my reputation. After a few minutes of fighting I jumped back, Sheppard was gasping for a breath as I panted as well. I could feel sweat dripping down my forehead but I ignored it, we circled each other, like predator and prey. I swirled my sticks around my wrists as I watched Sheppard lunge towards me, he left himself open by mistake as I dodged one of his blows, circled around him and smacked him sharply with the stick into his side. He grunted and doubled over, dropping his sticks to the ground with a clatter. I grinned from my spot, "Did I forget to mention that I took down four Genii soldiers with my bare hands?" I saw his head turn slightly to mine, he raised his thumb and nodded.

"You may have mentioned it." I laughed at him as he collapsed onto the floor holding his side, I bit my lip nervously, I may have hit him too hard. I dismissed the thought then, he was a big boy, he could handle it. Sheppard had moved himself over to lean on the wall as I joined him; I sat a few feet away from him, with my legs tucked up. I was examining a red mark that I had on my arm from one of hits that he managed to land on me. "Least I got one good hit," he grumbled as I tilted my head to look at him and grinned.

"I'd still be alive. If we were in a real fight I could have killed you seven times already."

"Don't get cocky," he huffed out as I laughed.

"I'm not cocky, just stating the truth, Major." We were silent for another few minutes until he spoke.

"I've been meaning to ask you for a while now." He waited for me to look at him before he continued on, "Why did you and your dad stop talking? Eight years is a really long time." I didn't really expect that question to come up, but everyone knew that my dad and I didn't have a very good relationship. The only person who knew was Ford, of course. I was silent for a short while, trying to figure out what to say. I could feel his stare on me constantly as I finally sighed.

"Ok, well the first thing you should know is that my family is very big on tradition."

* * *

 **Well well, I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I love the Home scene that's in this and I hope you all did too! And next week we finally find out why Mia and her dad fell out all those years ago, exciting times!**

 **REPLIES**

 **parmakai66** \- Thank you! And yes i'm sorry you had to wait a week but I hope that this chapter was worth it!

 **Adela** \- Thank you, here is the next chapter!

 **LeopardFeather** \- Thank you! And that's ok, I love hearing from new readers!

 **Guest** **64** \- Thank you, I love that scene between them, it's just so cute and innocent!

 **09sasha** \- Yes spot on! ahahah I'm surprised that no one figured it out! And Mia taking on Sheppard always brings me great joy, I love the fact that she can kick his ass and he doesn't really mind!

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Im replying to your reviews on this one here! Thank you so much, and yes I realised that that was the reason why while i was actually writing this story! Funny how nobody ever pieced it together! She is feisty I love it! And we are getting so so so close I am so excited. I think not next chapter but the chapter after that we see some major development between the two!

 **Thank you everyone and see you all next week!**


	13. Genesis - Chapter 13

**Good morning or afternoon or evening wherever you guys are! We are now getting into some of my favourite chapters now! Hope you all enjoy this one and see you all next week. And thank you to everyone who reviewed and alerted! Mean's the world to me!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

"For as long as I can remember my dad always drilled into me that one day I would joins the Marines."

"But you're in the Army." Sheppard stated as I nodded with my lips pressed into a firm line.

"Exactly." I laughed softly as I glanced at him; he was looking at me with confusion. "We stopped talking when I joined the Army and not the Marines, but it's not just because I defied him. It's tradition to join the Marines in my family; my grandfather, my great-grandfather, my great-great grandfather were all in the Marines. I have no idea how far it stretches back, but to not join them is like chopping off your own arm." I joked as Sheppard smirked. "That's not the worst of it," I sighed. "It's always tradition that everyone in the Sumner line has a name beginning with 'M'." He raised his eyebrows in shock.

"Hard core."

"Tell me about it, my dad wanted to call me Maxine. But apparently my mum abhorred the name so they settled on Mia." I grinned slightly. "So you can picture the absolute shame and disappointment on my dads face when I returned home telling him that I had joined the U.S Army."

"Oh I have an idea," he admitted, he shifted slightly and winced from the hit I gave him.

"We started yelling at one another, I threw some things. I told him that tradition wasn't everything and I should be able to live my own life not the life he planned for me. I wanted to be my own person, not some drone that does everything that everyone else does."

"Good idea," he grunted. I scoffed.

"Well he didn't think so. He told me that I had dishonored my family, like it was a divine right to join the Marines." I stopped for a second, reliving the memory and still being able to feel the anger even if it was eight years ago. "He stormed off, no doubt calling my grandfather and telling him what had happened. While he was gone I packed my bag, I packed up everything I would need to survive as I left him a note. I wanted to write a long note saying how I was sorry I defied him, but I wasn't sorry. I was proud of myself for doing it, so instead of writing an essay I settled on just saying, 'I hope one day you'll understand. Goodbye.' I left the note on the kitchen counter and left the house and I never returned. Cheyenne Mountain was the first time I had seen him in eight years, it was a bit daunting to be honest."

Sheppard had been silent for a few minutes, I was worried that he thought I was stupid for doing what I did, what if he was like my dad and thought that I should've joined the Marines? "That's pretty brave." He finally said, shocking me. My head quickly turned to his; I couldn't get anything out as he spoke again, "To defy your dad like that, it's pretty amazing. You stuck up for what you believed in." I felt my insides warm up with what he said; I could feel myself grinning like an idiot at his praise.

Sheppard tried to push himself off of the floor but he wasn't able to use his left side from the hit I gave him, I quickly hopped up. "Here," I said as I linked my arm with his right one as I helped pull him up into a standing position. He stretched out, wincing slightly as I grimaced, "Maybe you should have Carson check you out?" I asked him.

"Nah, I'm fine," he waved his hand in front of his face. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Not wanting to admit that I beat your ass again?" I smirked at him as he gave me a dry look.

"That may be part of it." He admitted. We walked to the gyms door; I turned to the Major.

"Thanks for sparring with me, it helped a lot." I thanked him as he nodded in thanks.

"No problem," he replied as I started backing away.

"You should ice it, by the way." He sent me a very dangerous glare as I laughed at his expression and hurried down the corridor and away from him.

* * *

For the next few days everything seemed to be quiet, we went on a mission and established some more trade relations with the people there, which gave us some more food for the Atlantis populace. Other than that I spent most of my time training in the gym or jogging around Atlantis. One morning, as I was just heading back to my room after having breakfast my radio buzzed.

" _SGA-1 please report to the conference room, immediately_."

I spun on my heel as I walked towards the control room, when I arrived there I headed up the stairs and into the conference room. Teyla, Sheppard, Ford and Elizabeth were already here. Elizabeth and Sheppard were the only ones sitting down as Rodney and Doctor Zelenka had taken up the rest of the space with computers and screens. I was getting slightly anxious from the looks on the two doctors' faces. I stood next to Teyla as I tried looking at all of the screens present to see why we were all here.

"This planet is basically the same size as Earth. Now, hurricanes on Earth never get as big as this bad boy because once they hit the shore, the brakes get put on. Without as much landmass to slow it down here, it just gaining momentum." Rodney explained, pointing out something on one of the large screen behind me. I finally realized what they had been talking about; we were about to have a very bad storm apparently.

"Both of them are," Zelenka added, causing Elizabeth to raise her eyebrows.

"Both of them?"

"We only saw one," Teyla said.

"It only looked like one. Now, according to the Ancient Database, every twenty or thirty years the sea gets unseasonably warm. Now that, for reasons too boring to get into, means that hurricanes are much likely to occur." Rodney explained.

"Well, like El Nino, the ocean—" Rodney interrupted Zelenka.

"Like I said, too boring to go into."

"Focus," Elizabeth said sternly to both of them, mainly at Rodney.

"Well basically, if you have a situation where there are a bunch of hurricanes out there, the likelihood of two colliding is greatly increased—that's what's happening."

"It's more like a merger than a collision. They are intersecting and combining their power." Zelenka explained further.

"So it's like a super storm from hell." I stated as Rodney and Zelenka nodded.

"Yeah," Rodney said grimly, "and it's heading straight for us."

"You just said the Ancients experienced these storms every twenty to thirty years. Atlantis must have some sort of precautions put in place?" Weir asked the two scientists.

"In the past, the Ancients have been protected by the shield or submerged deep enough in the water to not be affected." Rodney said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ok, strike those options. What else have we got?" Sheppard asked the two men. Zelenka and Rodney are silent.

"Nothing," Zelenka finally said, "it's a real threat. The high winds alone will wreak havoc."

"Come on guys! This city has been around for a long time." Sheppard exclaimed.

"Storm surge is inevitable." Zelenka mumbled. "Not to mention that fact that by moving over a landmass just before hitting is, the likelihood of tornadoes and electrical activity is greatly increased."

"This is Atlantis," Sheppard said desperately, "I mean, they've got to be able to handle that, right?"

"No," Rodney said with defeat.

"Why not?" Weir asked him.

"The people who built this city knew that had a forcefield capable of holding back anything Mother Nature or for that matter, the Wraith could throw at them. Without that protection, Atlantis is remarkably fragile." Rodney told her.

"Even our conservative calculations project widespread structural damage." Zelenka added.

"Flooding could sink the city entirely." Rodney added.

"How could something as big as Atlantis just sink?" Ford asked them both.

"I'm sure the passengers on the Titanic were asking themselves the same question." Sheppard said sarcastically.

"Yes well, let's not!" Rodney cried.

"So what you're saying is, if Teyla and I hadn't discovered this, we—" Sheppard was cut off by Elizabeth.

"We would be in even bigger trouble," she turned to the two scientists, "alright, what's the plan?" she asked them.

"By my calculations we have just under, twelve hours until the storm hits, so uh, we plan to have a plan…" Rodney said uncertainly.

"Yeah," Zelenka shrugged.

"By then," Rodney finished. Elizabeth nodded for the two men to leave as I assumed they were heading down to the lab to come up with some genius plan to save the day like they always did.

"I suggest we evacuate the mainland, if this storm is as bad as they say, the Athosian's will be at risk." I told Elizabeth as she agreed.

"We'll bring them here for the time being. I believe Doctor Beckett is over on the Mainland, he'll need to be brought up to speed." Elizabeth said to us.

"Yes he was providing medical assistance to some of my people, Major Sheppard and I were going to get him when we discovered the storm." Teyla replied to her. Elizabeth turned her gaze back on me.

"Lieutenant I would like you to head the evacuation on the Mainland." I nodded as I motioned for Teyla to follow me as we left the conference room. We moved into the control room as I headed over to Chuck who was at the communications control panel.

"Chuck can you give me city wide please?" I asked him as he nodded, he pressed a few buttons and nodded to me. I hit my radio piece, "Attention please, this is Lieutenant Sumner. I need all personnel who have had jumper training to please report to the jumper bay. We need to start evacuations on the Mainland for the upcoming storm, thank you." I hit my radio piece again as Teyla and I headed up to the jumper bay.

We waited a few minutes as people walked into the jumper bay. I had five people all up, which was a good enough number to begin ferrying everyone. I instructed them all on what was happening as we all headed to our jumpers.

" _Bay doors are open, jumper one."_

"Acknowledged, we'll stay in radio contact." I looked to my right as I gave Teyla a reassuring smile as I took the jumper out of the bay. I brought up the H.U.D to make sure that all jumpers were in the air, I grinned when I saw all five of them following in a straight line.

* * *

It took us twenty-five minutes to get to the Mainland, as we all set down our jumpers at various spot I could already see that the winds were picking up. Even though the storm was still eleven hours out. As Teyla and I left the jumper I turned to her, "Go and talk to your people and tell them about the storm," she nodded to me, "I'll go find Beckett and bring him up to speed." We then went our separate ways as I wondered through the camp to find the Doctor. I asked a few Athosian's and found that Carson was at one of the homes on the edge of camp. I hurried over to the tent just as he came out with his medical bag, he spotted me immediately, and he looked surprised to see me.

"Mia, come to help me inoculate these babies?" he smirked as I shook my head.

"Sorry Carson, not today. We're here to actually begin an evacuation." I told him, as he looked even more shocked.

"Why? What's happened? Is it tha Wraith?"

"No, thank god. Rodney and Zelenka are predicting a really bad super storm that going to be worse that any of the hurricanes we've ever had back on Earth."

"Really now?" his eyebrows rose as I nodded.

"It's going to be bad, so we need to get the people off the Mainland." Carson nodded in understanding as he and I walked to where I assumed Teyla would be, she was exiting the tent as she spotted us, we met each other half way. "How'd it go?" I asked her as she tilted her head.

"Some believe me, some do not."

"What do you mean they don't?" I exclaimed as Teyla shook her head.

"Some don't believe that the storm will be as bad as I say, either way everyone has agreed that the women and children will be evacuated first, the men and any women who want to will stay behind to help secure some of the foundations." I nodded.

"Alright sounds good, did you tell them where to go?"

"Yes I informed them to only bring their most precious possessions and start heading towards the jumpers." She told me.

"I'll go and watch over that, Carson you stay with Teyla and help out as much as you can." I saw him pull a face slightly at doing some hard labor but I ignored it as I hurried back to where all the jumpers were.

The people who had flown the jumpers were all standing around nervously, "Listen up! The women and children are going to be boarding first; I want as many people as possible in all the jumpers. There are around one hundred Athosian's here so there's going to be a few trips today. Once your jumper is full you are to fly back to Atlantis, drop off your cargo then fly straight back, understood?"

Some mumbled and others nodded as I could hear hushed voices of the Athosian's coming closer, I turned around and begun ushering them into the first jumper, some of the Athosian's recognized me as they all smiled softly at me as I directed them into the jumper. After the first ten were loaded in I instructed the scientist whose name I didn't know to take them to Atlantis and return. He nodded as I watched the jumper fly away. I hurried into my jumper as I activated the comms system, "Atlantis this is Lieutenant Sumner."

" _Go ahead."_

"Jumper five is inbound with ten Athosian's."

" _Acknowledged, we will notify when the jumper has arrived."_

There were six Athosian's remaining as I moved them into the next one, we waited around for ten minutes before another eight arrived. I moved them all into the one jumper and instructed that jumper to go on to Atlantis. An hour passed and the last three jumpers had been filled and were now on their way back to Atlantis. Fifty-seven people had been evacuated so far. I waited around my jumper for another few minutes as the first jumper arrived back, the scientist stepped out, and to my surprise, Ford.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him as he walked up to meet me.

"Weir want's you back helping McKay and Zelenka. They still haven't thought up of a plan."

"I don't know how much help I'd be, I'm a mechanical engineer." I argued as he shrugged.

"Beats me, maybe someone dumber than them can come up with a solution." He smirked at me as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Very funny, alright I'll head back, keep these jumpers moving. We've got nine hours before the storm hits." Ford nodded in understanding as I headed to my jumper and sat in the pilot seat. And then I started flying the jumper back towards Atlantis.

* * *

I arrived half an hour later just as I saw a jumper leaving the bay and heading back to the Mainland. I landed the jumper and exited it and headed down to the control room. It was pretty busy in here, apparently we had found somewhere to gate to as the Athosian's were being ushered through the gate. I glanced around and spotted Elizabeth standing at the balcony as I walked over to her. "Doctor Weir?" I called out to her as she turned around and spotted me.

"Lieutenant, I trust everything is running smoothly on the Mainland?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Ford said you wanted me to help out Rodney and Zelenka?" I asked her as she nodded.

"Yes they aren't having any luck, I was hoping one more brain to help them might increase our chances of survival." I smirked at her.

"Of course, I'll head down there now." I said to her as I spun on my heel and hurried down the stairs. Rodney's lab was just off the fourth level of the tower as I walked in; both he and Zelenka weren't talking as they were both furiously typing away at their laptops. "Help has arrived," I called out cheerfully as both men looked up. Rodney pulled a face at my presence as Zelenka sent me a small smile. I took a seat in the middle of the room as I began spinning around slowly. "Weir sent me down here to give you guys and extra brain."

"Well thanks but no thanks." Rodney snapped as I rolled my eyes.

"Just humor me Rodney. What have you got so far?"

"Nothing," Zelenka mumbled. I smirked as Rodney gave him a dry look and then turned his gaze to me.

"We found the most probable way to survive this is to somehow power the shield. We just have no way of powering it up enough."

"What about the wind?" I offered.

"You gonna build a windmill in eight hours?" Rodney said sarcastically.

"Ok, solar energy?"

"Do you see any sun out there?" he snapped at me. I frowned at him.

"Well I don't know, I'm just throwing stuff out there. In Arizona we used solar panels to power everything. I've never actually seen a hurricane before," I told them both as Zelenka looked over at me.

"In the Czech Republic we don't have to deal with hurricanes."

"We don't get many in Canada either—except one called Hazel." Rodney added as I scooted over to one of the laptops, I started pulling up a schematic of the city to see if there was anything we could use to help us.

"Hazel?" Zelenka seemed curious. Rodney hummed.

"Forty years ago."

"That's interesting." Zelenka mumbled.

"So Rodney you must have been what, thirty?" I said nonchalantly as I felt his stare on me. I chortled as he sighed.

"I was once almost struck by lightning." There was a brief pause.

"Lightening?" Zelenka said as he stood from his chair. I heard Rodney stand also as a few seconds later I realized what they meant.

"Could that work?" Zelenka asked.

"Possibly?" Rodney replied.

"But how?" Zelenka continued. I began typing away at the laptop for a few seconds, the two men were throwing around ideas about how they could use lightening to power the shield when I called out to them.

"Hey!" they both stopped talking and looked at me, "I've found something," they both hurried over as I showed them the cities schematic. "I saw it before but I didn't think anything of it until you said lightening. Look here," I pointed to the point on the screen. "There are lightening rods all over Atlantis, thousands of them."

"Of course," Rodney said in realization, "Atlantis is a giant metal city, lightening would be drawn to it, the Ancients would need somewhere to transfer all that electricity though." I grinned at him.

"Precisely," I typed on the laptop again until the screen changed and showed the grounding stations. "There are four grounding stations in Atlantis, whenever the city is hit by lightening it's all transferred here and discharged back into the ocean." I looked at them smugly as I finished, Zelenka smiled at this revelation.

"Hang on," Rodney said, "what if we disabled the grounding stations? Where would all the power go?" he asked either of us as I shrugged. I heard Zelenka snap his fingers.

"I remember reading something before…" he mumbled as he hurried to his computer and stared at the screen for a few seconds. "Ah, here. The cities wall are lined with super-conductive material—" Rodney cut him off.

"So the electricity would be in the city itself—"

"If we could reroute some of the power distributions—"

"We could transfer that power into the shield generator." My head was like a tennis ball, going backwards and forwards between them.

"So we have a plan?" I asked them both. Zelenka nodded at me.

"I think we have a plan."

"We have to go tell Doctor Weir," Rodney realized as the two scientists ran out of the room at top speed. A few seconds later Rodney popper his head back in, "Start writing a subroutine for transferring the power to the shield generator."

"On it, Doc." I saluted him as he rolled his eyes and left again.

* * *

It was a few hours later and I had only gotten halfway with writing the subroutine, I'm sure Rodney would have been able to do it within half an hour but he had radioed me saying that he and Zelenka were in the power distribution rerouting some conduits for the electricity. And with writing a subroutine I had to try and bypass failsafe systems that didn't allow for this power flow. I mean, there is a reason why the grounding stations were put in place, the city knew that if they were disabled that the hallways would become supercharged.

I heard footsteps coming closer to the lab; I looked up just as Rodney entered. "You're still going?" he asked me as I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, Rodney. I'm about halfway done." I told him just as I heard more footsteps coming. Elizabeth and Sheppard walked into the lab, I glanced up at them and gave Elizabeth a smile when she looked over at me. I moved my gaze to the Major as he was smirking at me; I lowered my gaze back down to the laptop as I heard Rodney explaining the plan to Sheppard and Elizabeth once more.

"There are hundreds of lightning rods placed strategically all around the city."

"Wait a second," Sheppard interrupted him.

"What?"

"Why?" Sheppard asked him.

"Why what?" Rodney replied, annoyed.

"Why are there hundreds of lightening rods placed around the city? Wouldn't the shield protect against lightening?"

"Yes, yes it would, but running the shield all the time is only good for one thing—draining power." Rodney explained.

"Right."

"You're aware there is a time element to what we're doing here, right?" I smirked at Rodney's abruptness.

"Yes it has been brought to my attention." Sheppard said sarcastically. I looked at Elizabeth as she just sighed and shook her head.

"Like I was saying, there are lightening rods placed all over the city. Now as it stands right now, all the energy they capture is routed into four main grounding stations. In turn the stations ground all that energy into the ocean below."

"So instead of sending all that energy to the ground…"

"We use it to power the shield."

"How?" Elizabeth asked.

"By directing it right down the corridors of Atlantis and into the shield generators." Rodney said to them both.

"The city can handle that?" Elizabeth asked in awe.

"Yes—theoretically." Rodney said unsurely.

"Like dinosaurs turned into birds theoretically, or theory of relativity theoretically?" Sheppard asked him as Rodney looked at him with confusion.

"What? Uh, sort of between," Rodney then pointed to the screen, there were four blinking dots on it. "Elizabeth you take grounding station two; I'll take grounding station one; Major, you take stations three and four."

"Whoa, whoa wait a second," Sheppard cried out, "where are stations three and four?" Rodney points to two points on the map that are at the edge of the city.

"Here, and here."

"And we are…?" Rodney then points to the control tower on the map.

"Here, yes."

"Well why can't Mia take one of the grounding stations?" Sheppard pointed at me, I was still sitting in the back on the laptop. Rodney waved his hand in the air.

"Mia is working on the subroutines to allow power to flow freely through the city, I've got to get done quickly so that I can write a program so that Atlantis doesn't go into a lockdown from the grounding stations being disabled, and Elizabeth was complaining about her knee the other day…"

"Wait a second. Are these things even close to a transporter?" Sheppard asked him.

"Yes, Elizabeth's is."

"And mine?"

"Uh, it's a brisk walk away." There was a slight pause from them.

"And by 'brisk' you mean…far?"

"By 'walk' I mean run."

"Ok," Sheppard agreed, albeit annoyed.

"You need to radio in once you've got to your first station." Rodney said.

"Alright. Let's do it." Sheppard said as he hurried out of the room. Rodney turned around to me.

"Get up to the control room. I need you to disable the grounding stations manually once they've been activated. And also finish that subroutine."

"I'm almost done," I said to him as he and Elizabeth walked out of the lab. I carried two laptops up to the control room as I sat down at one of the panels and hooked up the laptops to the system.

* * *

I was finishing up with the subroutine when my radio buzzed. " _Mia, you there?"_ Rodney asked as I hit my radio.

"Go ahead."

" _I'm about to disable the grounding station, be ready to deactivate it."_

"Affirmative, ready when you are." I switched to the other laptop up, suddenly a little warning flashed on the screen as I quickly shut it down.

" _Elizabeth, it's your turn now."_ Rodney said.

" _Understood."_ Came Elizabeth's reply. Another warning flashed on the screen as I shut that one down too.

" _Alright, Elizabeth head back to the control room, I think that should do it."_ Rodney said as my radio went silent.

It was around ten minutes later when I heard a noise come through my radio, " _I'm here!"_ It was Sheppard. There was a lot of rain and wind coming through with his radio feed.

" _I told you to contact me when you got to the first one Major."_

" _I am at the first one, Rodney!"_ Sheppard snapped.

" _Oh sorry, I've already done mine."_

" _That's great, good for you!"_

" _Me too,"_ Elizabeth added into the conversation, I was smiling by this point.

" _Good for everyone!"_

" _Where are you now?"_

" _I'm at the damned grounding station!"_ I could tell that when this was over, Rodney was going to get a smack from Sheppard.

" _No, no, no, not you."_ Rodney said as Elizabeth replied to him.

" _I'm in the transporter."_

" _There you are."_

" _There I am."_ The two spoke to each other.

" _Glad everybody's having such a good time. What do I do?"_

" _There should be a keypad right on the console of the station."_ Rodney explained through the radio.

" _Got it."_

" _Punch in the Ancient equivalent of one three one five four seven,"_ there was a pause of silence on both ends. " _That do it?"_ I knew it had worked as the flashing warning came up once more as I shut it down.

" _Yeah!"_

" _Good. Three down, one to go. They all seem to have the same separation code, so get down to the next one, repeat the procedure. We'll meet you in the control room."_

" _Roger that!"_ Sheppard replied as the radios went silent. I though, seeing as I wasn't doing anything I would begin working on the patch for the grounding stations that Rodney said he was going to do.

There were two guards standing on the balcony in front of me, they were chatting away to themselves when something unexpected happened. The gate activated. When I heard the sound I bounced up from my chair and ran to the balcony. The two guards looked at me as the gate opened and the shield went up.

I ran back to the computer just as a woman's voice came over the radio, " _There's been an attack on Manara. We've got wounded incoming. Lower the shield."_ I walked to the console as I checked the screen.

"They're broadcasting an Athosian I.D.C." I said.

" _Please! Before it is too late!"_ The woman cried out again, desperately.

"What do we do?" one of them asked me. I pressed my lips into a firm line as I hit my radio.

"Doctor Weir, we've got an Athosian party incoming with wounded." I said as I hit the shield button.

"We're lowering the shield!" The guard yelled into his radio as the two of them ran down the stairs to meet them down at the gate.

" _We're on our way."_ I heard Elizabeth say into my radio. I hurried to the stairs as I began walking down them as the Athosian's came pouring in through the gate.

"What happened?" one of the Marines asked them.

"They were everywhere. I can't believe they didn't kill us all," I heard a familiar female voice say. I looked to the group of Athosian's just as one of the Marines stepped slightly to the right, and I got a clear view of the woman who had spoken. It was Sora.

I felt my stomach drop to the floor, just as I was about to let loose a yell something rolled off of a gurney and stood up. Two shots were fired as the two Marines' were taken down. I gasped as I hit my radio once more, I turned and tried running up the stairs to try and activate the shield once more.

"Doctor Weir! Don't—" I stopped as two bullets went flying past me, one hit the stairs above my head as I instinctively ducked down and then the other I felt fly right by my arm.

I spun around as I stared down towards the gate. There were at least twenty Genii soldiers in the gate room now. Sora and the man who had shot the two Marines were staring at me. In my ear I could hear Elizabeth, Rodney and Sheppard shouting like crazy at me to report to them about what was going on, but I knew that if I spoke one word that man wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet through my head. I could tell that he had missed shooting me on purpose. He and Sora moved towards me slowly.

"Is that her?" he asked Sora as she nodded.

"Yes." I frowned, what were they talking about?

"Restrain her." The man ordered as two Genii ran over to me. I didn't struggle as they both grabbed my arms; they dragged me down the stairs and brought me closer to the man. He was a little chunky, and could have easily been passed off as like a typical uncle or something, apart from the fact that he was holding a gun and the aura around this man screamed dangerous. The only reason why they would restrain me would be because they knew what I was capable of, I could spot in this Genii team three of the four men I had attacked back on their homeworld.

"I see my reputation precedes me," I hissed at him. He smirked down at me as I could here footsteps approaching, from still having my radio turned on I could hear that it was Elizabeth and Rodney approaching. I spotted them enter the control room directly across from me.

"What the hell is going on?" Elizabeth cried out as Genii surrounded them with guns pointed at them. The man before me turns and walks slowly towards them.

"Doctor Elizabeth Weir." He stated.

"Yes?" she demanded from him, her eyes narrowed. He then turns his gaze to Rodney.

"And you must be Doctor McKay." I see Rodney's face pale, as he doesn't speak, although he didn't have to. Sora glared at him as she stood next to the man.

"That is him." She barked.

"Where is Major Sheppard?" the man demanded, shocking Rodney and me. Why would he want to know where he was? "I would like to know the whereabouts of Major Sheppard."

"Why? So you can ask him on a date?" I said sarcastically as he turned to stare at me. I tugged my arms, trying to get free from the two Genii holding me in place. The man conveyed no emotion as he slowly turned back to Elizabeth and Rodney.

"You seem to know a lot about us. Who are you?" Elizabeth asked him. Rodney's face dropped. He had obviously recognized who they were from Sora and their uniforms.

"They're Genii." He muttered to her.

"There's only one thing you need to know, Doctor. As of right now, we are in control of Atlantis." He said ominously as I glared at Sora. She met my gaze and smirked at me.

* * *

The Genii moved us up to the upper level of the control room, well, Rodney and Elizabeth were moved, I was dragged. They slammed me down in one of the chairs and pointed a gun at me constantly, I knew that if I even tried to take one of them out they'd either shoot me, or Elizabeth, or Rodney.

They were left standing, surrounded by Genii as they began looking at all of the consoles we had. I turned my head, I had seen the burly man had gone outside to the balcony; I heard the door open once more as he came back in.

"Who are you?" Elizabeth finally asked him.

"Commander Acastus Kolya of the Genii." Well, least I could put name to a face now. "This Atlantis is extraordinary—more than I ever imagined." He said in awe, still looking around the base.

"What have you done with the rest of my people?" Elizabeth demanded.

"I'm quite sure they have no idea we're even here." He replied.

"Then they're safe?"

"Yes." I didn't fully believe him, and from the look on Elizabeth's face, she didn't either. She took a step towards him.

"There was a time when our two peoples considered becoming allies. Why are you doing this?"

"You're in possession of supplies we vitally need. Hand them over without difficulty and we'll leave peacefully." Kolya said.

"Or?"

"We're both intelligent people, Doctor Weir. I'm sure there's no need for me to demonstrate once again the strength of my resolve." I knew he had been talking about killing the two Marines. Just thinking about them boiled my blood. I could see Elizabeth looking at me; she was obviously deciding what to do. I guessed if she said no I would be the first one Kolya would kill.

"Which supplies do you have in mind?" She finally said.

* * *

 **Oh my goshh, sorry to leave you all on a cliffhanger but you'll just have to wait until next week to find out what happens! So we found out why Mia and her dad fell out all those years ago, it may have been a little obvious to some people but if not we have an explanation! And I just love the bickering with Rodney, it's always fun to write. And we finally meet Kolya, funnily enough he is one of my favourite characters on the series. What do you guys think will happen in the next chapter? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Again thanks for reviewing and alerting and let me know what you all think!**

 **REPLIES**

 **09sasha** \- With your review, it sounds like you may have been confused as to what was going on. Mia had her own reality and Sheppard had his own one with Teyla, but in Mia's he appeared in hers like a ghost or whatever the people were. So Sheppard didn't know what she dreamt of or whatever. Hope that cleared it up for you, if not message me please! And thank you so much for asking!

 **Guest** **64** \- It was actually so much fun to write her family all together, I wish that there was another time that I could do that, maybe I might throw another one in there as like a crack or something ahah. Yes this girl needs to admit that she has feelings and so she's not a cold hearted bitch!

 **LeopardFeather** \- Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

 **Adela** \- Thank you! Enjoy this one!

 **Thank you everyone! Hope you all enjoyed! Can't wait for next week!**


	14. Genesis - Chapter 14

**Hey everyone! I know all of you are excited for this chapter! I know I am! Enjoy it and thank you everyone for reviewing and alerting!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

"All of your stores of the C4 explosive, all of your medical supplies, the Wraith data device you stole from my people, and one of your ships." Kolya ticked off.

"Is that all?" Rodney said sarcastically. Kolya kept a straight face; I bet he'd be good at poker.

"No. Where is Major Sheppard?"

"He's on the Mainland," Elizabeth said quickly and dryly, "What you're asking for is not easy. We've had to divert a lot of power in order to prepare for the storm. The armory's safety doors have shut, which means we can't—" Kolya holds up one of his hands to stop her from talking.

"I know a lie," he muttered. Out of the corner of my eye I see Rodney lean forwards onto the communications console, I see his hand press down on the citywide button as he speaks.

"Elizabeth just give him what he needs. He needs the C4, the medical supplies and the Wraith data device—just give them to him. None of that's worth dying for." After he speaks I see one of the Genii soldiers see what Rodney is leaning on as he motions to Kolya to look.

"Stop away from the console." He orders as Rodney jumps back like it had just burnt him, he puts his hands in the air.

"I was leaning. I was just leaning."

"Your request is unreasonable," Elizabeth continues talking to Kolya, "and you can't possibly need all of our C4, all our medical supplies."

"You're in no position to tell me what is reasonable and what is not."

"How do we know that you won't kill us once we give you what you need?" Elizabeth said sharply.

"You don't," Kolya smirked, "please show my men where they can find what they are looking for." He nods to Sora and a few other soldiers as they grab Elizabeth by the arms and begin dragging her away. I watch them with my eyes until Kolya speaks to Rodney. "What are you doing here?"

"My understanding, I'm being held hostage." Rodney's voice shook as he spoke.

"I mean here in Atlantis. Why did some of you stay behind?"

"Oh. I was helping with things."

"Like what?" Kolya pressed.

"You know—make sure everyone got out ok." Rodney shrugged.

"Isn't that the work of someone…less important?" Rodney laughed nervously. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

"You have a plan, don't you?" Kolya asked him. I could tell that this was going to turn ugly pretty soon.

"I've got lots of plans about lots of things."

"I'm interested in the plan you have to save the city." Rodney's face paled a little.

"I never said anything about saving anything."

"Not yet." Kolya said as he placed a hand on Rodney's shoulder as he nods to a soldier behind him. Rodney see's the soldier pull out a knife as he balks.

"Rodney, don't tell him anything!" I cry from my seat. His gaze turns to me; his eyes are full of dread.

Kolya turns to look at me as I glare at him with everything I had.

"Tell me what the plan is." He ordered as he looked back to Rodney, the soldier was now standing next to him with the sharp knife. To my left was only one person holding the gun to me, everyone else was either looking around Atlantis or looking at Rodney about to get skewered. In the next second I dived out of the chair and spear tackled that soldier with the gun to the ground. The surprise shocked him as his head cracked on the floor and he was knocked unconscious. I knew I only had a few seconds to act but before I could do anything else something yanked on my hair as I cried out. I was dragged backwards and then pulled up forcefully. Two genii held my arms as I struggled against them; Kolya was glaring at me as I smirked at him. He nodded to a soldier to my right as he moved towards me; I had a very good idea that this was going to hurt. I braced myself as the soldier pulled his arm back and socked me right in the jaw.

"Mia!" Rodney cried out. A sharp pain radiated through my jaw and face as I grunted from the hit. I felt blood trickle down my chin; my lip had probably split. I tossed my head back as I grinned at Kolya.

"That all you got? I've had worse." Kolya pressed his lips into a firm line as he nodded to the soldier with the knife, and he stalked over towards me.

"Doctor McKay, tell me what the plan is," he said as the soldier reached me, he yanked my head back with one hand and pressed the knife against my throat with the other, "or I will have Lieutenant Sumner killed before you."

I heard Rodney whimper.

"Don't tell him." I growled out, the soldier tightened his grip on my hair as I winced, "let the city sink." I said. I met Rodney's gaze, I could tell that he desperately wanted to tell Kolya to save me. I managed to slightly shake my head as he nodded. I would rather die then have Rodney succumb to Kolya's interrogation.

"Very well." Kolya said simply.

The knife disappeared from my throat as I lowered my head back down, the next second I felt a painful and sharp blow to the back of my head as I went down and my vision went dark…

* * *

When I awoke, someone was gently shaking my arm. My head was pounding like a drum as I blinked my eyes open. Elizabeth was hovering over me, I looked around to control room, I had seemed to awake where I had been hit unconscious. The Genii were still here and using some of the controls. Elizabeth extended her hand to me as she helped pull me up. "Are you alright?" she asked me as I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where's Rodney?" I asked her.

"I'm here," Rodney appeared from behind me, holding his forearm. I could see blood on his hand and jacket sleeve.

"What happened?" I asked him as I walked over to him.

"After they hit you unconscious he turned the knife on me. I didn't want to tell him."

"It's alright, Rodney." I consoled him as I turned back to Elizabeth.

"What happened while I was out?" I asked her. She looked around quickly then leaned closer.

"Sheppard hid the C4." I smirked at her. "Kolya told him to disable the grounding station and he'll let us go."

"That won't happen," I rolled my eyes as she shrugged. Elizabeth straightened out her shoulders and glared at something over my shoulder, I turned around and saw Kolya sitting in her office.

"I'm going to go try and negotiate our release." She said defiantly as she began moving away. I grabbed her arm at the last second.

"Doctor Weir, I know people like Kolya, you can't reason with them, trust me."

"I have to try," she said finally. I nodded and released her arm as she walked away, Rodney I and I stood around and watched her go into her office where Kolya was sitting.

"How's your face?" Rodney asked me. I rubbed my jaw as it did ache, I could feel dried up blood on my chin and lip as I shrugged at him.

"I'll be fine."

"What are we going to do?" he asked me. I shook my head and sighed.

"I have no idea. We've just got to hope that Sheppard has some sort of plan." I saw a Genii soldier whisper something to another man as he nodded and walked over the catwalk and to Elizabeth's office.

Kolya stood from the desk as he walked back into the control room, Elizabeth and Sora following.

"The commander's here." The Genii said into their radio. Kolya took the radio from him.

" _He's just standing there, sir."_

"Hold your position. Do not approach until he's finished."

" _Yes, sir."_

"Use lethal force only if necessary." Kolya ordered.

"You told him he would be unharmed." Sora said to Kolya. The man didn't even glance at her.

"Let's hope he doesn't put up much of a fight." There was radio silence for a few minutes before they spoke again.

" _He's stopped—he's not at the control panel anymore. He's looking around."_

"Hold your fire."

"Those control panels are pretty fragile—you might not want to—" Rodney was speaking when a Genii grabbed his injured arm, Rodney cries out in pain. We were all waiting to hear what had happened, it was a suspenseful few minutes when the Genii radio buzzed.

" _Let me tell you what you did wrong here Kolya!"_ I grinned when I heard Sheppard's voice come through. " _A; you lost two of your men. B; you damaged the switch before I could separate the grounding rods, which I'm sure you're going to get an earful from McKay for; and C; you lost all of what little credibility you had with me."_

"Do you have nay idea of how big a setback that it?" Rodney exclaimed. "I may not even be able to activate the shield. I mean, I can't possibly—" the Genii grabs his injured arm again, "get off me!" he yells at him. Kolya was looking at Rodney but then he turned his back and spoke into the radio.

"You killed two of my men." He stated.

" _I guess we're even!"_ Came Sheppard's reply.

"I don't like even," Kolya growled. He spun around, pulling a pistol out of his jacket.

" _I'm not finished yet!"_

"Neither am I. Say goodbye to Doctor Weir." When he said that I instinctively jumped in front of her.

" _The city has a self-destruct button. You hurt her I'll activate it. Nobody will get Atlantis."_

"Even if it exists, Major, you need at least two senior personnel to activate it—and I'm about to take one of them out of the equation." Kolya glared at me, like hell I was going to move out of the way.

" _Kolya!"_ Sheppard yelled through the radio. Kolya didn't reply to him, I continued to stare him down. " _Kolya! I'll give you a ship! I'll fly it out of here for you myself!"_ There was a brief pause. " _Kolya!"_ Sheppard screamed through the radio.

"How is this going to help you get what you want?" Elizabeth said to Kolya from behind me.

"Sheppard put you in this position, not me."

"No," I hissed, "I did, I'm the one who lowered the shield."

"You can't kill Elizabeth." Rodney said from beside me, "This is crazy, you need her."

"He's right, Commander." Sora spoke up. I didn't miss that fact that no one said anything about me.

"I'm not kidding. There are codes required to activate the shield-codes that only she knows. You can't do it without her." Rodney says, he then holds up his hands, "Well you can't do this without me either. I mean, we're a package deal. You take us out of the equation and-and-and and you don't have an endgame." I turned my head to glare at Rodney, he was saving his and Elizabeth's rears but not mine. He realized and spoke, "and Mia is the one who wrote all of the programs for the power distribution, she didn't even get to finish, she's the only one who can finish them."

I sighed in relief; hopefully Kolya wouldn't kill me now.

"That's how important we are. It's important—"

"Rodney," Elizabeth interrupted him. Kolya had begun to lower his pistol, realizing that what Rodney had said was the truth. "Rodney, he get's it."

Kolya began to turn around as Rodney and Elizabeth sighed in relief. Though, I happened to be watching Kolya like a hawk, so it was no surprise when he spun back around and fired his pistol. The shot went off and the next second a searing pain blasted through my stomach as I screamed. I had just been shot.

"Mia!" I heard Elizabeth cry out. I fell back into her as she managed to catch me; my hands immediately went to my stomach as I pressed down on the wound. I felt the warm blood coat my hands.

"What are you doing?" Rodney said angrily to Kolya.

"I'm sure that if she dies, you'd be able to finish her work." Kolya said as he stormed off back to Elizabeth's office. Rodney turned to me as Elizabeth guided me over to the chair I was seated in before; I collapsed into it as I grunted.

* * *

"How bad is it?" Rodney asked me. It was taking everything in my power to not cry and scream, I bit my lip as I looked down at my stomach. My black shirt was soaked already but luckily the bullet had grazed my side. It was a nasty gash but thankfully the bullet wasn't in me otherwise that would have been more painful. I don't think I will die, but only if I can stop the bleeding.

"Get my jacket off," I ordered either of them as Elizabeth held my body up while Rodney took my jacket off. "Put it on the wound, hold it there, you need to stop the bleeding otherwise I'll bleed out and die." Rodney looked sick as he nodded and pressed my jacket onto the wound. I cried out from the pressure as Rodney apologised. "It's alright." I huffed out.

There was a commotion with the Genii as a few of them left the control room, the three of us looked around just as Kolya came back in. I glared at him once more as he spoke.

"Doctor McKay, Doctor Weir, let us go to the grounding station." He said with a slight grin.

"We can't leave her, she'll bleed out." Elizabeth said, aghast.

"That's what I'm counting on." He said darkly.

"It's fine, go." I said to them, I moved Rodney's hands out of the way as I nodded for them to leave me. "I'll be fine." I gave them both a weak smile as Kolya ushered them out of the control room. Once they were gone I looked down at my wound, my jacket was already soaked in the blood and I was starting to feel lightheaded. I knew it was only a matter of time before I bled out if I didn't get help soon. I was watching Sora and a man she had called Ladon at the sensor screen, they were trying to corner Sheppard but they weren't having any luck, he was just too good. As minuets went by I could begin to feel myself getting sleepier and sleepier, my eyes began drooping but I forced myself to keep awake, I knew that if I fell asleep, there was a good chance I'd never wake up. With my free hand I brought it up to my forehead and wiped the droplets of sweat away, I dropped my head back onto the chair as I thought that at least I wouldn't die when the city got destroyed, I could die thinking that it survived the storm and everyone else came back and lived out their lives.

"Your Sheppard just took out another three of our men." I look up sluggishly; it was Ladon who had spoken to me. I smirked at him weakly.

"Good, can't say I feel sorry for you guys right now." When I spoke, my voice was frail and soft. I didn't have long left if I couldn't stop the bleeding.

Ladon walked off and dialed the gate; I was confused to as why. When the wormhole established he made radio contact with Cowan and asked for him to send a full company through. I felt my stomach drop, I was hoping that maybe Sheppard could have taken them all out by himself, but now they were bringing in more my hope was fading, fast.

Once the gate shut down Ladon walked over to me once more, he crouched down and looked at my jacket, then my face.

"You won't last much longer." He stated. I wanted to laugh at him, but mostly I was able to scoff at him.

"Thanks, like I didn't know that already." I hissed. He continued to stare at me before he turned and looked at Sora. She was looking at the sensor screen, completely unaware of Ladon and I.

"What do you need to stop the bleeding?" he asked me. I looked at him and frowned.

"What?"

"I am not military, I answer to Cowan, not Kolya. I believe you are better use to us alive."

"Doesn't make me feel any better." I grunted. He didn't reply, and if he was offering to help why was I going to deny it. "Bandages. Thick ones." I gasped out as he nodded, he stood up from crouching as I wondered off, hopefully in search of the bandages I had asked him for. In reality I probably needed to be stitched together but I doubt I could do that right now or any of these people had medical training. No, I would just have to hope this all gets resolved quickly and Doctor Beckett could fix me up.

A few minutes later Ladon returned with a handful of bandages. "That one," I pointed to the thickest one that could be wrapped around my stomach. He picked it up as he looked at me, not knowing what to do next.

"I have no medical training," he admitted to me.

"Great." I muttered as I took a deep breath. "Ok, I'm going to take away my jacket, when I do that I need you to put that square gauze directly over the wound and press down hard, then wrap it around so its tight, got it?" I asked him as he nodded. "On three. One, two, three." I peeled my jacket away from my body as Ladon pressed the bandage onto the wound, "Ah!" I screamed loudly.

"You said to press down hard!" Ladon cried out as I started taking deep breaths.

"Just start wrapping it!" I said through gritted teeth. Ladon wrapped it around my torso as I continued to brace myself for the pain. He tied it at my side as I was finally able to slump back down in the chair. I looked down at the bandage; no blood had seeped through yet so that was a good sign so far. "Thank you," I said to Ladon as he nodded at me.

"Ladon!" Sora called out to him as he hurried over to her, they seemed to be looking at something on the sensor screen, and from my spot here I couldn't see what it was.

"What are you up to?" I heard Ladon mutter. Suddenly all the lights went out, as did the screens and consoles.

I grinned, realizing that Sheppard was still trying to get us out of this mess. Ladon and Sora pulled out flashlights as they scanned the dark room.

"What's he done now?" Sora growled. Ladon groaned.

"I should have seen this coming." Ladon walks around the control room, testing some of the consoles to see if they are working as Sora radio's Kolya.

"Commander. Major Sheppard has cut power to the control room."

" _How?"_ I heard Kolya reply.

"Looks like Atlantis is being powered by five small generators, each responsible for a separate area of the city. Major Sheppard has just disabled the one generator that powers Stargate operations in this tower. Now, we have primary operations. We have definitely lost all secondary systems." Ladon explained, messing around with one of the power consoles.

" _Can you still track Sheppard?"_

"No." Sora said grimly into the radio.

" _Then we have no idea where he is now?"_ Kolya said.

"No, sir." Sora replied once more. There was a pause before Kolya spoke again.

" _I_ _s the control room secure?"_

"Yes, Commander. I suggest we send some men to guard the remaining generators," Sora suggested.

" _No! He's trying to divide us into manageable numbers. Just hold Stargate operations until the reinforcements arrive."_

"Understood." Sora said as their radios went offline. Ladon and Sora wondered around again for a few minutes before I heard an alarm coming from one of the consoles, Ladon hurried over to it and pressed a few buttons. He sighed heavily and activated his radio.

"Commander, Sheppard has just disabled another generator."

" _Yes, Ladon, I'm aware of that. He's cut the power the grounding station three."_ The Genii conversed over the radio for a few more minutes before it was decided that teams of two would go and guard the rest of the generators. Sora, Ladon and two Genii soldiers remained in the control room as I could hear the screaming winds outside and the rain pelting against the city. I could tell that the storm was getting worse out there.

* * *

A little while later Sora walked over to Ladon who was still sitting at a console trying to figure out what systems were available to him. "How many should we expect?" Sora asked him as she moved over to the balcony.

"A full company—sixty or more." He said as he too stood and walked over to Sora by the balcony. I was further back, still sitting in the chair and holding my wound gently, checking on it every few minutes. A few spots of blood had seeped through by now but it was to be expected, at least it wasn't soaked anymore. I heard the gate activate as I glanced up. "I don't know how we were expected to take a facility this size with any less." Ladon said to Sora.

"It was supposed to be a raid to retrieve what was rightfully ours." The wormhole stabilizes as Sora looks to two guards, "With me. Come on." She orders as they follow her.

As soon as she was out of sight a hand clamped itself over my mouth, my eyes widened in shock, thinking some Genii soldier was about to finish what Kolya started. I tried screaming but it was muffled, the hand turned my head to the side as a face came into view.

It was Sheppard, his hand drops from my face as he presses a finger to his lips so that I don't make a sound. I study him quickly, he looks exhausted and yet in his eyes, I could see relief flooding through them. He quickly motions for me to get out of here as I nod. I try to stand, wincing from the pain as I begin walking as quickly as I can out of the control room. I hurry across the catwalk as I hear the shield go up on the Stargate. I got to Elizabeth's office as I go to the door and wave my hand over the sensor. The door opens just as I hear Sora start screaming to stop Sheppard. I fall into the hallway, the pain from my stomach becoming unbearable. I could hear gunfire back in the control room as I tried to get up and get away from here but it was no use. I used up all of my energy just walking here; I could hardly see everything was spinning. I felt a hand roughly grab the front of my shirt as I'm pulled up to a standing position, I see a Genii soldier as I wince from the pain from my wound.

"Get off me!" I yell at the soldier as he wraps his hand around my neck and squeezes. I gasp for air as I hear a gunshot go off as the Genii in front of me drops to the ground like a rag doll. I fall with him, hitting my injured side as I cry out in pain. I feel an arm wrap around my waist as I look to my left and see Sheppard as he pulls me up once more. I whimper in pain as Sheppard finally saw my wound.

"Crap." He muttered. The next second my legs were swept up from under me, I cried out once more as Sheppard began jogging down the hallways.

* * *

I guess when Sheppard deemed us further enough away he slowed down; he looked down a few hallways then turned left and walked down it. There was a little alcove that he set me down in, I breath out harshly and winced as I looked up and met Sheppard's gaze. He looked worried and relieved at the same time, just like before. I looked down at the wound, it seemed that me walking and hitting the floor twice had made it begin to bleed once more. There was a lot more blood soaking through the bandage.

I looked up again at Sheppard, he seemed a little more relaxed but still concerned about my stomach wound. He reached out then, his fingers brushed a piece of my honey colored hair behind my ear, and my face tingled where his fingertips trailed over my cheek softly.

"Kolya said he had killed you," he uttered. My mouth dropped open slightly in shock, not because of Kolya telling Sheppard that I was dead. But because of the expression that he now had on his face, he looked physically torn when he had said it. "I didn't want to believe it," he said. I realized his fingers were still ghosting over my cheek, I could feel my cheeks reddening.

"I think he just wanted you to become unfocused," I said softly. His fingers stilled on my cheek as he pulled them back.

"Well it worked." He admitted. Before I could actually register what that meant coming from him he was working on my bandage. "Let's get this changed." He muttered as he untied it. He reached into his tactical vest and pulled out another bandage. He pulled away the blood soaked one and applied the clean one; I winced in pain and didn't cry out this time as he quickly wrapped it around and tied it up.

"How're you feeling?" he asked me. I grimaced.

"Terrible. Dizzy, sick, and I feel like my stomach is being ripped out." He smirked slightly at my attempted humour.

"Take this," he handed me his sidearm as he rose from his position. "I'm going to go try and finish this. I'll be back as soon as I can. Do I need to even remind you to not go to sleep?" he asked me with a brow raised. I nodded.

"Got it, Major." He gave me one last long look as he spun on his heel and ran off, leaving me in the little alcove, hidden from view.

I was able to relax and conserve most of my strength, I still felt dizzy and nauseated but I didn't think I was getting any worse. All I could hear around me was the howling wind and the rain hitting against the city. I was growing anxious though, I wanted to know what was going on, I didn't have a radio and I could very well go back to the control room. I had no idea if Sheppard was winning or loosing, for all I knew he could be dead right now and Kolya was seizing the city, or we were too late for everything and the city was about to be destroyed from the storm.

I didn't know how long I had been sitting there, my butt was numb but I didn't really have any strength to try and move myself, every so often I would check my bandage, thankful that it wasn't soaked still. The bleeding seemed to have slowed but it was still flowing. I didn't know how much longer my body could take of this.

* * *

"Mia! Mia wake up!" Someone was shaking me, I blinked my eyes open slowly. My gaze was unfocused and blurry but I could see Sheppard hovering over me, I tried to focus on him but my eyes kept on drooping shut. On the bright side I couldn't feel the pain in my side anymore, or maybe that was a bad thing. I didn't really care anymore; all I wanted to do was sleep. I felt him pick me up, a string of curse words coming out of his mouth as he began running, I tried to hold my head up but it felt like it weighed a million tons.

"Mia don't you go to sleep." He ordered as I my eyes slipped closed. I fell back asleep and I jolted away when someone screamed near me. "Carson!"

I forced my eyes open as I was set down on something, my head lolled to the side as Carson appeared in my vision.

"Rodney go!" I heard someone scream as I looked to Carson. I could feel someone touching my stomach as a searing pain shot through me. I screamed as they began talking, my hearing was not focusing so I couldn't make out what they were saying. The pain was building up and up, I wanted it to stop. And then finally I blacked out once more…

I flittered through consciousness. I remembered waking up a few times, only for a few seconds. I heard voices all around me but I couldn't understand what any of them were saying. Sometimes when I awoke my eyes would open and I saw faces, mainly Carson. He'd be hovering over me and saying something but I'd fall back asleep. I remember seeing Major Sheppard and Teyla once, I could tell that they were saying something to me but I couldn't make anything out.

When I awoke this time I was more aware of my surroundings and myself, I peeled my eyes open as I glanced around. I was in the infirmary; I was tucked under the stark white blankets with a drip in my arm and a nasal tube up my nose. There was a slow and constant beeping above me and I turned my head, the infirmary looked completely empty as I assumed it must be nighttime or early morning, and then I realized that the city must have been saved. Rodney's plan worked. I could feel a dull ache in my side where I knew my wound was but I was happy I was still alive. Thinking back to my last memory, it seemed that the bleeding hadn't actually stopped and I was inches from dying. I'm glad that wasn't the case anymore. I heard some soft footsteps coming from the other side of the room as I turned my head slowly. Carson was walking with a tablet in his hand and a coffee mug in the other; he seemed to be reading something.

"Carson." I muttered weakly, my voice was coarse as he stopped and looked up. He quickly set down his tablet and mug and hurried over to me. He put one hand on my forehead and the other caressed my arm gently.

"How do you feel, lass?" he asked quietly.

"Better, like I'm not dying anymore." I said to him as he chortled.

"Aye, you are a lucky lass. We almost lost you back there." He admitted as he pulled up a chair next to my bed and sat down.

"What happened? Why didn't it stop bleeding?" I asked him.

"It seems that when the bullet went through you, a piece broke off and got lodged inside you and so your blood couldn't clot with it there." He explained. I grimaced as he smirked at me. "I had to do surgery to remove it, you also needed two blood transfusions, and you were also dehydrated as well which didn't help you."

"Why just have one problem when you can have three?" I joked as he laughed. "Get some rest, love, you're going to be here for a few more days." He smiled at me as he patted my hand. I nodded to him as I watched him walk to a bed across from me; I hadn't even noticed that someone was sleeping on it. Carson went over, placed his hand on their shoulder, leant down and said something to them that I couldn't hear. The body suddenly moved around on the bed as they sat up, to my shock it was Sheppard. Carson picked up his tablet and mug as he wondered off further into the infirmary. My gaze shifted back to Sheppard as he stretched and hopped off the bed, he was walking over to me bed and every step he took I could hear the heart monitor speed up just that tiny bit more.

"Hey," he said to me. His voice was deep and husky, as he had just woken up.

"Hi," I replied to him. He sat down in the chair that Carson had been in a few minutes ago.

"How're you feeling?" he asked me. I shrugged.

"Alright I guess."

"Elizabeth told me what you did." He stated. I frowned, not knowing what he was on about. "That you took the bullet for her. When Kolya pulled out the gun you put yourself between them."

"Oh," I sighed, "Well he was probably going to shoot me anyway, least I looked heroic doing it." Sheppard smirked at me. "So what happened? Obviously the city was saved." I asked him as Sheppard nodded.

"Yep, Rodney saved the day, again. The Genii were forced out and I shot Kolya." My eyebrows shot up into my hairline.

"Really? Is he dead?" I asked him, he shook his head slightly.

"I don't think so, it was only in the shoulder."

"That's a shame." I mumbled.

"You're telling me." He muttered. Then he shocked me by grabbing my hand suddenly that was lying on top of the blanket. His hand was large and warm as it enclosed over my tiny one.

"I really am glad you're ok, Mia." He whispered. I couldn't say anything, I was stunned in silence. I couldn't believe this was happening, Sheppard was acting like he cared about me, more than just a team member, I didn't know what to say or do. All I could focus on was him and his hand that was holding mine. "When I saw you in the hallway, you looked…" he trailed off. I could guess what he was going to say. "There was so much blood, no one thought you were going to make it." My body turned cold at hearing this, I guess I had been closer to death then I had thought.

"But I did though," I managed to finally find my voice. He smiled at me for a few seconds, he then cleared his throat.

"I should go and let you sleep." He went to stand up, I didn't think, I reacted quickly as I gripped his hand tightly.

"No." I said. He stopped and sat back down. "Can you stay?" I asked him softly. He seemed shocked I had asked him that, well that made two of us. "I don't want to be left alone." I mumbled to him. He didn't show any emotion and I thought that maybe I had gone too far but he nodded and once again he reached out and brushed a lock of hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear.

"Ok," he said softly. Realizing how tired I was my eyes slid shut as I took a breath and let it out. All the while his hand held mine on top of the blanket. I guess I was too nervous to actually sleep, but a few minutes later, when Sheppard probably assumed I was asleep I heard his clothes rustle and his body moved in the chair. I assumed he was going to leave me now that he thought I was asleep, I felt my stomach drop when I had looked too much into it, of course he only cared for me like a team member, he probably thought of me like a sister.

And then to my absolute shock I felt something warm press against my forehead. And if I had to guess, I would say that Sheppard had just pecked my forehead. As quickly as it had come he pulled away. I kept my eyes shut tight as I heard his footsteps move away until I could no longer hear them. Once I was sure he was gone I opened my eyes and looked around, he was definitely gone.

"What the fuck?" I breathed.

* * *

 **Woo, so I know maybe some of you expected her to be a kickasser in this chapter but I decided to go this way as I believed thais would've happened had another person actually been there in the scene's. Kolya's just that much of an asshole, but don't worry, Mia does get her revenge and plus we got some gooey action between John and Mia yay! So we've seen that John's caring about her more now, maybe he doesn't realise how much yet but we will be finding out very soon! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was so much fun for me to write and we are finally getting into more fluff from here on out!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you! You probably expected some kickass but not today :( she will get her revenge though!

 **09sasha** \- Ah ok, I get you now haha. Yeah she is a smart cookie, Mckay doesn't give her much credit though like always.

 **parmakai66** \- Yes it's one of my favs too! Although I hope you're not to upset that she didn't kick as much ass as she could. We did get a rescue but unfortunately no rescue sex yet a haha!

 **Guest** **64** \- Thank you! I have many so be prepared!

\- Aw thank you so much! I love writing team missions as it's so much fun. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed.

 **Again thank you everyone! Let me know what you all thought about this chapter!**


	15. Genesis - Chapter 15

**Hey everyone! Hope you all enjoyed last chapter! I can't believe that we are up to chapter 15 now, it's seems just like yesterday when I posted the first chapter. Anyway there is a nice surprise in this chapter for you all so I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

I didn't get much sleep for the rest of the night, I was too worked up to even think about shutting my eyes, and I knew that if I did I would dream about what had happened. When morning came Carson came back to check on me, he examined my wound and said that it was healing nicely. I also found out that I had been asleep for nearly a day and it was now the second day after the storm. After breakfast Teyla and Ford came to see me and check up on me. Ford handed me a crude get well soon card that he had made as Teyla had picked me some flowers from the Mainland. She had heard Carson talking about how people from Earth gave sick or injured people flowers to make them feel better. We had joked and laughed around for a few hours before they were called away to go on a mission. I didn't feel left out; I was injured not kicked off the team. Besides, I was going to be out of commission for at least three weeks. When night rolled around Rodney came and visited me, he handed me some chocolate that he had snuck from Zelenka's stash as I laughed and thanked him.

"How's the uh…" he looked uncomfortable talking about my injury, I don't know why.

"Gunshot wound?" I finished for him. He grimaced at me as I sighed, "Rodney, what's wrong?" I asked him. He twiddled his thumbs as plopped himself down on the chair next to me.

"I'm not good with all of this being brave stuff. You saw first hand what I was like with Kolya. I can't protect myself and I'm a coward. But you—you stood up to him!"

"Yeah and look what it got me," I deadpanned as Rodney shrugged.

"Better then being a coward…"

"You aren't a coward Rodney. It's alright to be scared sometimes."

"You weren't scared though," he said to me. I smiled at him and nodded.

"Yes I was. I've just been trained to hide it." The silence that followed after that was peaceful, Rodney seemed to be lost in thought as I sneakily took a bite out of the chocolate bar that he had given me, though when Rodney realized he held out his hand for me to give him a piece. I rolled my eyes at him and handed him a piece as he inhaled it.

"So we've got this mission tomorrow," he said between chewing, "We have to fly fifteen hours to go check out this satellite that one of the lesser scientists found."

"Lesser scientists?" I gave him a scolding look as Rodney shrugged.

"Sheppard is flying us there but I'm trying to convince him to let me have a go," Rodney had a wicked glint in his eyes at the mention of flying the puddle jumper.

"Good luck with that," I scoffed at the scientist as Rodney pouted slightly. After another half hour of unimportant chatter Rodney finally bid me goodnight as he left the infirmary. I chomped down on the rest of the chocolate bar before Carson could see, as I knew he would confiscate it from me if he spotted it. As I was settling down and moving my sore body ever so slowly into a more comfortable position I heard footsteps coming closer to me. I glanced up just as Elizabeth rounded the corner; she stopped walking when she saw me looking up at her, I noticed that she had a beige folder tucked under her arm and in one of her hands was a little bouquet of flowers that I recognized from the mainland.

"Dr. Weir," I said in surprise. She looked a little nervous as she stepped closer and handed me the flowers.

"These are for you, as a thank you for saving me. I would have come to see you sooner but I've had a lot of things to sort out after the attack." She explained as I shook my head at her.

"You don't have to explain." I set the flowers down next to Teyla's. When I looked back at her I nodded my head to the folder under her arm, "What's that?" I asked her as she looked at it nervously. She pulled out before her and sighed deeply before sitting on the edge of my bed.

"I've had it for a while now, I was trying to figure out the best time to give it to you." From out of the folder she handed me a piece of paper that had been folded many times. I glanced over the first line.

' _General Iverson, this is Colonel Marshall Sumner writing on behalf of Lieutenant Mia Sumner (formally Major Sumner).'_

I glanced up from the letter and into Elizabeth's green gaze; I frowned in confusion and was silently asking her to explain.

"I found it among some of your father's belongings, I'm sorry I never gave it to you sooner." She said as she grasped my hand tightly and squeezed and then let go and left the infirmary. I looked back down at the letter, my shaking hands making it difficult to read it properly. I took a deep breath and skimmed over the letter.

' _Explain…Liam…death…depression…drugs…stripped of her rank…second chance.'_

I felt tears well up in my eyes as I read the letter, my hands were still shaking uncontrollably as I lowered it down to my lap as I felt a tear run down my cheek. I hastily wiped it away with the back of my hand as I scrunched up the letter and threw it into the bin beside my bed. I didn't need anyone else to see that letter; I didn't want them to find out how much of a screw up I had been two years ago.

Two days later Carson discharged me from the infirmary, though I was still off duty for another month for my wound to heal properly. Ford had returned from a mission late into the night of me finally being able to sleep in my own bed. It was the middle of the night when he came to my door as I let him in. He told me how Sheppard, Rodney and the two 'lesser scientists' as Rodney called them, had gone to investigate the satellite and had also found a downed Wraith supply ship. They unfortunately encountered a Wraith that had been hibernating and had killed the two scientists. Ford had been sent out with a group of Marines to go and help them and successfully killing the Wraith. I felt my insides go warm when Ford mentioned the fact that Sheppard was all right, he had a few cuts and bruises but nothing bad.

After we chatted for another half hour or so Ford left to go to sleep as I settled back into bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Three weeks later I was walking through the corridors of Atlantis, nearly all of my strength had returned and I no longer felt any pain from my gunshot wound. There was a small scar from the wound but it didn't bother me that much. And during these three weeks I had not seen Major Sheppard once, I was starting to think that he was avoiding me after what had happened in the infirmary. It had brought my mood down considerably thinking that maybe I shouldn't have grabbed his hand and practically begged him not to leave me. But he was the one who had kissed me on the forehead, and that confused me more then ever.

I had spent some of the day in one of the labs, going over some more Ancient databases, in the three weeks of doing absolutely nothing I decided to become more versed in their technology and language. Elizabeth had been helping me learn the Ancient language when she could but mostly I taught myself. As I entered my room and set down the laptop on my desk I heard the comms crackle overhead, " _May I have everyone's attention please? We have run into a questionable medical situation and at Doctor Beckett's suggestion we have decided to put the city into a self-regulated quarantine. For at least the next couple of hours, I need everyone to stay where they are, and report anyone moving freely through the halls. I hope you all understand. Thank you."_

I sighed as I sat down at my desk and opened up the laptop, I started going over some more Ancient information for the next few hours. Hopefully whatever was going on out there would be resolved soon enough, I didn't even have a radio to see what kind of medical situation it was, my radio had been broken or lost during the strike attack and seeing as I had been off duty I hadn't felt the need to get a new one until I was fully healed. I tried another tactic; I connected to the Mainframe from my laptop and started going through the logs but I couldn't find anything relating to an outbreak. I sighed harshly as I leaned back on the chair and crossed my arms over my chest.

Suddenly an alarm started blaring out that made me jump as out in the corridor I could hear doors slamming shut, I looked to the laptop and saw the screen shut down and get blocked from the Mainframe. I leant forwards and tried typing into the laptop to try and reach the Mainframe but it was no use, I had been locked out of it. I groaned and rubbed my face as I rose from my chair and walked over to the door, I waved my hand in front of the sensor but it didn't open. I tried again and nothing happened. I slammed my hands on the heavy metal door as I sighed and begun pacing around my room. I didn't think that the alarm was the self-destruct, I mean why would all the doors lock if it was the self-destruct, and Doctor Weir had mentioned that it was a medical situation, maybe it had gotten out of control? I moved off to the side and slumped down on the floor by the door, I had nothing else to entertain me and there was no way for me to get out of here so I decided to sit and wait it out until this medical outbreak was over.

I don't know how long I had sat by the door when it suddenly opened up; I jumped up to my feet and spun around. My breath got caught in my throat when I saw Major Sheppard standing in my doorway. I frowned when I saw him wearing the burgundy hazmat suit and tucked under his arm was one of the Naquadah generators. "What's going on?" I asked him.

I noticed his grip tightened on the generator, "A Nanovirus is killing people. I'm taking this to go and detonate it above the city to wipe them out." He spoke; his voice was more muffled because of the suit.

"And why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be saving the people first?" I asked him, confused. He sighed.

"I'm not sure if I'll survive this…so I just wanted to say…" he paused for a few seconds before he spoke again. I didn't dare open my mouth. "Take care of yourself," he muttered as he spun on his heel and ran out of my room.

"Major!" I cried at his retreating back as the doors locked me in again. I slammed my hands on them repeatedly, crying out, but it was no use, no one could hear me. A few minutes later I head the comms crackle again.

" _Detonation in twenty-five seconds."_ I heard Grodin's voice speak as I stepped away from the door. I hurried over to my window as I pushed the flimsy curtains out of the way as I looked up into the orange sky.

" _Twenty seconds…"_

I bit my lip nervously as I scanned the sky, knowing that I wasn't going to see anything.

" _Fifteen seconds…"_

I pressed my hands onto the glass as my breath fogged it up slightly.

" _Detonation in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."_ There was a loud bang as the darkening orange sky suddenly lit up as I turned my body away and shielded my eyes. It only lasted a few seconds as it died down as I glanced out the window once more. I could feel and hear my heart racing, nothing was coming over the comms and I was worried that Sheppard had been killed in the blast.

The familiar sound of my door opening brought me out of my worried daze when I realized that the lockdown had ended. I sprinted from the room; my boots hit the ground hard as I raced to the control tower. I had to know if he was alive, he had to be. I ran passed groups of people who were emerging from rooms they had been locked it as I ran up a few flights of stairs. I darted into one of the transporters and hit the screen so hard I almost broke it. I bolted out of it and dodged between some Marines, they protested their annoyance but I paid them no heed as I skidded into the control tower. I could hear clapping and cheering from above me as I let myself catch my breath for a split second before I ran up the stairs. I looked through the small crowd that had gathered as I spotted Sheppard on the last step that led to the Jumper Bay. He still had the Hazmat suit on but the helmet was nowhere to be found. I felt relief wash all over me as a weight that had been on my shoulders lifted. He was grinning as soldiers and scientists alike clapped him on the shoulder and cheered for him. If it weren't for him, most of those people would have died.

The crowd begun to disperse slowly as the city began to return to its normal crazy function. Sheppard was talking with Grodin as his gaze suddenly glanced up and he looked at me. I felt my face heat up slightly at being caught staring at him as I saw a small smile ghost over his face. I looked away hastily as I spun around on my foot and walked out of the control room.

* * *

I headed down to the mess hall, seeing as I had been locked up in my room all day I hadn't eaten anything and I was starving. When I entered it was practically full from everyone in the base, I grabbed a tray and sat down at a table in the far corner that was the only one not occupied. I ate my dinner in silence as I watched people come and go from the room. It was strange to think that just a few hours ago this whole city had been a mess from the Nanovirus. I also found it weird how Major Sheppard had come to my room to see me before taking the generator up into space. It reminded me of how he had reacted when he had found me during the storm. My memory was a little fuzzy from that time but I remember him touching my cheek and brushing my hair away from my face. He had told me that Kolya had convinced him that I had been killed. It brought a smile to my face when I remembered how tightly he had held me as he had run away from the control room, and then in the infirmary when I had held his hand and asked him not to leave me. And then he kissed my forehead, it still confused me three weeks later and I wanted to know why he had done it. And also the fact that had had avoided me for those three weeks as well. Him appearing at my room was the first time I had seen him since the infirmary.

I glanced around the mess hall, it was pitch black outside and it was nearly empty in the room. I decided then that I had to find out why, why Sheppard had been acting the way he did, I had to know if I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

I dumped my tray as I hurried out of the mess hall and headed towards the personal quarters, I knew where his room was as it was a few corridors away from my own. With each step I felt myself growing more nervous, I was starting to think that maybe this was a bad idea. What if he just laughed it off or he thought I was an idiot for thinking like this? My palms were getting sweaty as I brushed them down on my cargo pants and I ran my fingers through my hair.

When I reached his room I glanced around the area and noticed that there was nobody around, I presumed that most people would have gone to bed by now.

I stood there for another few minutes, deciding whether I should do this or just leave and go to my own room. But I knew that if I didn't do it now, I wouldn't ever. And Mia Sumner never backs down from anything, if my father were here and this was a completely different situation as he would never approve of what I'm about to do now he'd tell me to stop being a sook and just bite the bullet. So that's what I did, I closed my eyes, counted to three and waved my hand over the sensor.

I heard the chime alerting him that someone was outside as I stepped back slightly and bit my lip nervously. When the door opened everything I had been planning on saying flew out of my brain and exploded. He stood there in his uniform, his hair was messy and his shirt was crinkled so I assumed that maybe he had been sleeping. I could see he looked a little surprised to see me standing here.

"U-uh, I was j-just…" I fumbled over my words like the complete idiot I am. I took one breath and sighed, "I wanted to talk to you about something." I whispered as I played with the ends of my fingers. I watched him step aside, silently telling me to come inside. I stepped in slowly and cautiously; I glanced around at his slightly larger room. There was a poster of Johnny Cash hanging above his bed, on his desk were some files and photos, on his nightstand was War and Peace, which made me smirk. I heard the door slide shut as I suddenly realized that I was in his room, alone. I turned around and watched him move around his room until he came to stand in front of me. I was at a loss of what to say, I ran my fingers through my hair once more. "I uh, I wanted to congratulate you on saving everyone," I started; he seemed a little confused for me to talk about this. "What you did was really brave," I told him. He crossed his arms over his chest; I could tell that for some reason he felt a little awkward for me to be here too.

"Is that all?" he said bluntly, I felt a little hurt at his tone as I looked away from his hazel gaze.

"Yeah," I mumbled, I turned away from him and headed over to the door. Before I got to the sensor I sighed heavily and turned back around, "No." I met his gaze, I came here for answers and I was going to damn well get them. "I was awake," I said loudly. He looked slightly confused as to what I was talking about; he dropped his arms from his chest. "I was awake…in the infirmary…when you left." I revealed to him, I saw his eyes go slightly wider and his jaw went slack. He didn't say anything so I continued. "You've been avoiding me for three weeks, and the first time I've seen you since then you come to my room to say goodbye." I said. He didn't move an inch. "I just want to know why? Why did you kiss me here," I pointed to my forehead, "Why did you come to me, out of everyone on Atlantis to say goodbye, why did you look so sad when you told me that Kolya told you that he had killed me?" My voice was a little raised, "I'm driving myself mad thinking about all of these things because I'm scared about how I feel about you, because one minute you're acting like you care about me, more then a teammate and then the next you're acting as if I don't exist!"

I was glaring at him, and he was shell-shocked. I could see his fingers twitching slightly as I sighed, "Just tell me, please." I begged him.

And then in three long strides he was before me, his large hands cupped my face as he pulled me towards him. His head bent down and our lips crashed together, I let out a shocked muffled cry of surprise. My eyes were wide open in shock, as I couldn't believe what was happening. This had to be a dream, just like last time, this couldn't possibly be happening to me right now, John Sheppard didn't like me like this, he couldn't. _He's kissing you, you idiot!_ I thought to myself as I suddenly realized that this wasn't a dream, and this was actually happening. I felt his hands move from my cheeks back and through my hair as I let myself be lost in this kiss. It was so much more different then the one from my dream, that one had felt fake; this was reality. My arms wound around his neck as my brain became fuzzy; my whole body was exploding with passion as our lips moved in sync together. One of his hands stayed tangled in my hair as he tugged it slightly, the other one travelled down my side, leaving a burning trail over my black top as I felt his hand come to rest on my hip. I gasped when he pulled the top up slightly so that I could feel his fingers on my skin; I felt a jolt soar through me as I pulled his body closer to me so that our chests were touching. The hand touching my hip moved back across my skin and then up my back, leaving a fiery hot trail. I pulled my head back from his, gasping for air as his lips moved across my jaw and down my neck. He was kissing, nipping and sucking all over my neck as I begun to feel a certain knot in my lower stomach as I let out a moan as he kissed a sensitive spot behind my ear. The hand under my shirt moved back around to my hip as I felt him grip it tightly. One of my hands gripped onto his messy hair and the collar of his shirt as I felt his hips roll onto mine, I almost melted into goo at the feeling of him hard against me. His lips moved back up my neck and over my jaw once more as my breathing was coming out in uneven pants, if it was possible I pressed myself closer to his body as I felt the hand on my hip move around and down to my ass, his large hand splayed out over my cheek as he squeezed it, causing the knot in my stomach to tighten. I moaned once more as his lips claimed mine again, I felt my head go light and all I could think about was his lips on mine and his fingers on my ass as he squeezed again.

"Mia," he said breathlessly as he pulled away for a second. The hand in my hair untangled itself as he settled that hand on my hip, the hand that was on my butt joined it on the other side. His warm breath ghosted over my face as he stared into my eyes. My arms that were around his neck slid down until they rested on his biceps, I felt the muscles ripple under my touch. "I want you to think about this," he said to me. I frowned in confusion, silently asking him to explain. "If anyone ever found out about us—"

"I know," I cut him off.

"I'm willing to take the risk if you are?" he asked me. I thought for over a minute, staring into his hazel eyes. I knew that if we got caught by anyone on this base it would be bad news for the both of us, and if word got back to Earth, if we ever got back we'd both be dishonorably discharged from service. But staring into his eyes, looking at his handsome face, feeling his hands on me, knowing that he did feel the same way I did about him…I didn't care about the risks. I just wanted to be wrapped up in his arms forever, kissing him and being with him was something I had never felt before, even with Liam…

I felt a knot at the back of my throat from thinking about Liam but I pushed it away, this moment wasn't about Liam, it was about making the decision whether or not I was going to have a relationship with John Sheppard, my Commanding Officer. I opened my mouth a few times, wanting to speak, but unable to form words. I wanted to say yes, my heart told me to but my head was telling me that this was a stupid idea. I knew that John could see the confliction in my eyes as he smiled softly at me, "Don't make a decision now, think about it." He mumbled quietly. Slowly I nodded my head, I felt his hands on my hips give me one last squeeze before we both pulled away from each other. I brushed my fingers through my hair quickly as I straightened out my top as we both walked over to the door. I felt his fingers brush over mine as I looked down at our hands as he intertwined our fingers. His other hand came to my cheek once more as he bent his head and pressed his warm lips to mine, this kiss wasn't like the last one; this one was tender and soft. As quickly as he had pressed his lips to mine they were gone and I found myself wanting more, he brushed my hair over my shoulder as he stared into my eyes.

"You have no idea how long I have waited to do that," he mumbled to me. I could feel my face flush as I smirked at him; I stepped out of his reach as I waved my hand over the sensor. The door opened as I stepped out, grinning like an idiot as I turned on my heel and walked towards my own room, before I got around the corner I glanced over my shoulder to see John leaning up against the door with one hand above his head as he was smirking at me.

* * *

The next week passed uneventfully, except for the fact that I was approved to return to active duty. I was beyond excited to finally get back out there and everyone on the base knew it. Carson had pretty much threatened me to not get any more bullet wounds or concussions for the next year…I made no such promises. And throughout the week I had only seen John a handful of times, we sometimes passed each other in the corridors going different ways, but both giving each other the same, longing looks. It was different now that I knew he felt the same way, it wasn't just one-sided anymore. I would often see him for dinner when I would join my team in the mess hall. Sometimes I would be seated next to John and ever so slightly our knees would touch, it made my heart flutter every time that happened. And no one on the team ever suspected a thing, maybe Teyla would but Ford and Rodney are too dense to ever figure it out.

And then came the fact that I still hadn't told him whether I wanted to be with him or not, I wanted to, so, so badly. But every bone in my body was telling me that this was a bad idea, but then my heart was just telling me to go for it.

I was walking through the corridors, on my way to the armory to vest up; today was my first mission from being back on active duty. I wasn't nervous about the mission, I was nervous about having to be around John Sheppard once more. Ever since that night we hadn't actually been alone together since then, and it made me even more nervous by the empty feeling I got whenever I thought about not being with him.

I walked into the armory; a few Marines were in here zipping up for their own mission as laughter from one of the corners drew my attention. My team were zipping up their vests and laughing about something Ford has said when I walked over to them. Ford saw me approaching as a smile spread over his face, the others looked over at me as well when they realized I was here. Teyla greeted me with a forehead touch, Rodney grunted and when I met John's gaze I saw the hint of a smile. All four of them were ready and geared up as they said they'd meet me up in the jumper bay, I walked over to the vest rack as I pulled on the vest and zipped it up. I noticed that my strap was twisted and as I went to tug at it a pair of hands beat me to it. They were large and familiar as I glanced up and saw John. He quickly untwisted it, letting his hands linger on my shoulder tenderly for a few seconds, which made me blush like always. Luckily there was no one else in the room to see the display that was going on. And to further my never-ending blush he reached over me and took one of the p-90's and clipped it onto my vest for me. All the while he never broke eye contact with me, to his left were the racks for the side arms. He took one as he slipped it slowly into my leg holster; I felt my whole body tingle when I felt his fingers run up the side of my leg and to my hip.

"John," I trembled under his gaze and touch, his fingers managed to touch the skin above my hip and a shiver ran up my spine. "Someone could walk in," I whispered. I noticed that he wasn't really paying much attention to what I was saying. He sighed heavily and pulled away.

"I know." He muttered. "You're killing me here, Mia." He said to me, I could see the confliction in his eyes that he wanted to kiss me, but wouldn't because I hadn't made up my mind yet.

"I just need a bit more time." I mumbled, looking away from him. He sighed once more as I moved around him and exited the armory, I could hear his heavy footsteps behind me. He was so close that if he reached out he could probably touch me. And every step I took I could feel his eyes burning holes in the back of my head, I knew what he wanted, and I knew what I wanted; but did I really want to risk both of our careers—our positions for a stupid fling?

We reached the jumper bay, I saw the three of them chatting to themselves, I was worried that they might find it odd that Sheppard had stayed behind.

"What took you so long? You know there are so many hours in a day?" Rodney said in his annoying voice. I rolled my eyes as John moved in front of me as he slapped his p-90.

"My damn safety was jammed, had to trade it up." He lied as he clapped Rodney on the shoulder as he walked passed him and into the jumper. I walked closer to the team as we all headed into the jumper. I took my normal place at the co-pilot seat as Teyla and Rodney sat behind us and Ford stood in the middle.

"Control room this is Major Sheppard. Requesting permission to dial the gate?" John said into the comms as the jumper hummed to life.

" _Permission granted jumper one."_ Came the reply, John nodded to me as I begun dialing the gate co-ordinates as he maneuvered the jumper down into the control tower. He lowered us down as accelerated forwards as we passed through the Stargate.

* * *

We emerged into space as I glanced around at the large planet below; it had a few rings around it and was extremely large. I could hear Rodney typing away at his computer, probably doing some scans of the planet as John started moving us closer to the planet and around it. I brought up the H.U.D as the ship began scanning the planet; it beeped after a few minutes.

"What does that mean?" Teyla asked me. I pointed to a place on the planet.

"That's a civilization. The Jumpers picking up a whole bunch of life signs on the far side of the planet. There's only one lot, and this is a big planet, I'm guessing that maybe the Wraith has something to do with their small numbers." I explained, looking over my shoulder at her. Teyla looked very somber, as Ford patted her on the shoulder. Rodney's computer beeped.

"Not to sound unsympathetic or anything—"

"Very unlikely." I muttered as I adjusted some of the controls, I heard John snort from beside me as I glanced over at him and grinned as he met my gaze.

"But that may be a good thing."

"Rodney," Teyla scolded him with a harsh glare. He rolled his eyes at her.

"All I mean is that planet is very rich in some very _rare_ minerals and ores that are extremely beneficial for us. If there's not a lot of people and colonies down there it might very well be a good source of mining for us. Granted if those life signs are friendly."

"So it's worth checking out?" John asked him as we were flying nearer towards the life signs.

"I believe so yes." Rodney replied.

"Every time you say that, we always end up in trouble." Ford remarked with a smirk. Rodney glared at him as Ford laughed childishly. We reached the other side of the planet, but before we could even begin to start scanning a little more thoroughly an alarm went off before me.

"Sir, we've got two incoming Wraith Darts!" I yelled at John as I spotted them out in space.

"Crap," John swore as he turned the jumper suddenly to the right, not before one of the Darts managed to hit us with one of their blasters. The jumper jolted to the side, I smacked into the side of the jumper as my shoulder hurt as I quickly fumbled with some of the controls to increase the jumpers maneuverability.

"Sir, I recommend shooting back any time now." Ford said as he came to stand next to me.

"I'm trying," he grunted, turning the ship once more. "That hit must've caused some damage. McKay?" He barked round at Rodney as I watched the scientist jump up from his chair like he had been shocked.

"I'm on it." He said and hurried into the back of the jumper.

"Sumner, help him." John ordered as I nodded and sprung out of my seat and over to Rodney, Ford fell into my co-pilot seat as I met up with Rodney.

"I can do it." Rodney glared as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Oh, shut up and let me help." I snagged one of the spare tablets as I hooked it up and began going through the diagnostics of the ship to find out what conduits had been damaged.

"Where did they come from?" I heard Teyla ask. Rodney looked over towards the front of the jumper.

"She's right. The darts are short-ranged fighters. There's probably a hive ship around here somewhere." Rodney said worriedly.

"Then we need to get out of here." Teyla told John. We swerved once again as he nodded.

"Yes, we do."

"The Stargate is the other way, sir, on the other side of the planet." Ford said anxiously.

"Yeah, we're taking the scenic route. McKay! Sumner!" I jumped slightly as Rodney turned to look at the front of the jumper.

"I'm almost there!" I turned back to my own tablet and began hitting away at random conduits.

"There's one on our tail!" Ford yelled out.

"Thank you, I know all about that one. Keep your eye on the other one." John said sarcastically.

"Ok, you should have weapons now." Rodney said, a quiver in his voice.

"Negative." John called back after probably trying to fire.

"Are you sure?" Rodney asked him.

"Positive!"

"I'm pretty sure I fixed it!" Rodney called out. Suddenly we were hit once more by the blaster as the jumper jolted violently, I stumbled but regained my balance as I shoved Rodney out of the way.

"I'll do it." I grumbled as I snatched his tablet and began searching through it.

"Perhaps we could lose them in the atmosphere of the planet?" Teyla offered her suggestion.

"Two more darts on our two o'clock!" Ford yelled out.

"Sumner!" I heard John yell. I moved a crystal into a different place and pressed a button on the tablet.

"Go! Now!" I hollered. I heard a drone fire out of the weapons console and a dart explode near us.

"I've lost weapons again!" John called back.

"What?" I cried, fiddling with some more of the crystals. In the next second there was a strange whining sound and the jumper started to shake again, but it wasn't from one of the blasters. I stumbled around as I looked out the front of the jumper as I saw a ball of energy destroy a Wraith dart and then disappear.

"The Wraith darts have been destroyed." Teyla pointed out.

"Well, that's a good thing." John said in relief. Rodney came up beside me as we both walked back into the front compartment.

"I thought for sure we were dead. Didn't you think we were dead?" He said breathlessly. No one answered him.

"What the hell was that?" Ford asked, looked around to see if he could see the ball of energy out in space.

"Some sort of uh, energy weapon?" Rodney stated the obvious.

"What do you say we find out?" John said as he began steering the jumper towards the planet.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed and yessss finally they have admitted their feelings for one another and kissed! I'm so happy that we're up to here and that you'll be reading all the scene's i've written with them I hope you all enjoy them! Next chapter I find really funny as we delve into Sanctuary and we all know about Chaya so you can all guess what is going to happen next time. Until then! And thank you to everyone who reviewed and told me what you think, it means the world to me!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you, yes he should have but he had to go an be the hero to save the day

 **09sasha** \- Aw thank you, it's one of my faves. He can be very sweet I know. Even with a bullet wound she's still a spunky little rocket!

 **Izzie** \- Aw my gosh thank you :) You are too sweet and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

 **Thank you everyone and see you next week!**


	16. Genesis - Chapter 16

**Hey guys! Sorry this one came out late my silly cat fractured his foot so I've been dealing with him all day and night, he's not a happy chappy. Anyway I know you must all be anxious to see what I've got up my sleeve for this chapter. You may hate me, you may love me. I'm ready for it. As always thank you to everyone who continues to support this story, without you guys I wouldn't have the motivation to write this story so thank you everyone!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

John set the jumper down a few clicks away from the village that we spotted as we were flying over. We all stood around the jumper waiting for him to give us the go. He emerged from the jumper as the cargo bay door closed and we all started walking in the direction of the village.

In only a few minutes of walking I could feel the sweat dripping down my back and neck as I wiped my forehead on the back of my hand. I was thankful that I had decided to not wear my jacket otherwise I might have passed out. John was leading us, with Rodney walking beside him, then Teyla and myself and Ford brought up the rear. We walked for nearly half an hour before we came to a little hill, we all walked up it and stopped as Ford got out his binoculars and began looking down at the village that was probably a ten minute walk from where we were.

From what I could see from here, the houses looked primitive, I could see straw roofs and wooden houses. I highly doubted that these people could be controlled a technology such as powerful as that energy.

"If there is a weapon somewhere down here, sir, these folks didn't build it." Ford said as he put his binoculars away as we went back down the hill.

"Not these kids. You picking up anything?" John asked Rodney who had been glued to the Ancient device since we had left the jumper.

"I'm picking up everything, just nothing worth mentioning." He replied.

"Not even a trace of the energy?" I asked him. Rodney glanced up and gave me a blank look.

"If I had, I would've said something. Don't you listen?" Rodney snapped at me as I rolled my eyes.

"These folks look familiar to you Teyla?" John asked Teyla as she smirked at him.

"The Stargate is in orbit, Major. My people could never have ventured here." She stated as I chuckled from the obvious point.

"Right," he drawled. "What say we venture?" John said to us all as we began walking towards the settlement.

We arrived in the village a little while later, and true to what I saw up on the hill, these people were definitely not technologically advanced. Everyone was dressed in tribal clothing; some had bone necklaces and tattoos on their faces and arms. I could see basic farming equipment and no sign of electricity or anything resembling a energy weapon. We all walked into the village slowly, none of us had our hands on our guns, hopefully to not scare them away from us. Though once these people actually realized that there were strangers in their village they all became stunned and backed away from us.

"Hi," John said softly, waving his hand slowly as to not scare them. I spot a young man, younger then myself run towards a small hut at the back of the area. He looked terrified. "It's ok. We're friendly. Hi." John tried once more, smiling at some of the villagers.

"It is likely they have never seen anyone from outside their village." Teyla said as we stopped in the center of the village. I glance around and notice that the villagers have come to surround us in a circle, but they didn't look hostile, they all looked merely curious. Scuffling caught my attention as I turned back around and watched a man run out of the small hut that the younger boy had run into.

"Welcome!" The man said, he wore bright red robes and had a pendant around his neck. "I am Zarah, one of the Abbots of Proculis." He greeted us with a head bow.

"I'm John. John Sheppard." He then pointed each of us out, "This is Teyla, Lieutenant Ford, Lieutenant Sumner and Dr McKay." Zarah started moving backwards and beckoning us to follow him.

"Please, come." I look over my shoulder at Ford, who has a quizzical look on his face as he meets my gaze. We both shrug our shoulders as we follow the rest of the team into the hut where Zarah had emerged. The older man sits at the head of a low table, Rodney kneels down on one side as I go beside him, Teyla and Ford go on the other side as I feel someone move beside me and John kneels down and sits next to me. I quickly glance over at him, he turns his head slightly and our gaze meets for a split second before Zarah talks again. "This is the first time—at least in my own lifetime—that people from another land have come to us," Zarah explained with a grin on his face.

"Well, we came by ship. A flying…thing that allows us to move from one world to another." John tried explaining to Zarah. Although Zarah looked confused about the jumper, when he heard that we were not from this planet he looked stunned.

"Another world?"

"From among the stars you see at night. We are peaceful explorers." Teyla explained to him in a way he could understand, which seemed to get the message across. Zarah clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.

"Then glory to Athar for bringing you here safely."

"Athar?" Ford asked, confused.

"The provider…and protector of all. Surely you know." Zarah said.

"Athar is known by many names among the stars," Teyla told him after a few seconds.

"Is um…Athar around?" Rodney said skeptically as I turned my head to give him a glare. "We'd love to talk to him. We're, uh, friends."

"Athar is friend to all, and with us always. Even now." Zarah closed his eyes as he clasped his hands together and bowed his head.

"Of course," Rodney said sarcastically. "Hi, Athar." He said mockingly. I saw all of my teammates heads turn to glare at Rodney as I shot out quickly and smacked him on the arm sharply.

"Ow." He whined, rubbing his arm as I leaned over to him.

"Be polite." I hissed lowly at him.

"What Dr McKay means is that we wish to offer our thanks. We were attacked by the Wraith and would have been killed, were it not for Athar's intervention." Teyla explained to Zarah.

"Wraith?" Zarah said in confusion. Which stunned me and by the looks on my teams' faces I'd say they were all pretty surprised too.

"Pale skin, sunken eyes, suck the life out of you with their hands?" John said.

"We have never encountered such beings." Zarah stated simply.

"Never?" Ford asked him, looking around at each of us.

"And there is no mention of them in your history?" Teyla asked.

"None. I can assure you that for many thousands of years, we have lived here in peace." There was a pregnant pause for a few seconds, all of us unable to comprehend the fact that this planet had never encountered the Wraith.

"Could you excuse us for a moment?" John says as he motions for all of us to get up so we can go and talk about what was happening.

"Of course." Zarah says, "Please, I must tell the other abbots of your arrival before we go to meet Chaya."

"Chaya is…" Sheppard drawled.

"The high priestess of Athar. This is a great day for our people." Zarah said, grinning from ear to ear s he left us in the hut and hurried away. After he was out of ear shot John leaned in closer to the table.

"I'm not kidding. This could really work." He whispered to us.

"I agree, Major. Every inhabited world I have encountered in this galaxy has been ravaged by the Wraith." Teyla said with a smile.

"Well, this planet is protected by an Ancient weapon. This just confirms it." Rodney said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Does it?" I ask him.

"Well, there's no other explanation, the power requirements of something like that must be astronomical. Only a ZPM could generate that."

"Maybe it actually is some sort of entity that protects the planet," I said as Rodney gave me a blank look.

"I'm going to ignore that." He said. I frowned at him as Teyla spoke.

"They do not appear to be technologically advanced."

"Unless that guy was lying. But he doesn't seem like the lying type." Ford said as I snorted.

"Remember when we said that about the Genii, and look what happened there."

"So maybe its automated defenses?" John added in.

"Imagine a world where displaced refugees from dozens of planets could come and live in peace without fear of being culled by the Wraith." Teyla said, highlighting the main point of our discussion.

"Maybe we can negotiate some kind of treaty," Ford said.

"We just need to access that weapon—better still, the ZPM," I snapped my head over to Rodney and narrowed my eyes at him. "Not that we'd steal it or anything." He said quickly.

"Let's just try to stay on our best behavior." John said pointedly at Rodney as we all stood up from the table.

"I'm always on my best behavior." He replied.

* * *

We waited around for a couple of minutes before Zarah returned with two other abbots dressed exactly like him. The three of them had packs on their backs as they beckoned for us to follow them out of the village, the opposite way of which we had come. Once we had left the village we walked along a path through a very dense forest. It was only wide enough for a single file, which is what we all settled into. The abbots led up the front, with Rodney right on their heels. John was behind him, then Teyla, Ford and myself. Even through the dense trees I could still feel the heat from the blazing hot sun and soon enough after almost an hour of walking through the forest my shirt had built up a layer of sweat once more.

Soon after we left the forest and emerged into large open fields of medium height grass. There was light chatter between us all as we walked to wherever this Chaya person lived, but it was weird that they would live so far away from the village. Another hour into our hike I begun to feel a pain on the side of my stomach where my gunshot wound was. Even though it was fully healed I hadn't been working out like I normally did, and this was the first bit of exercise and strenuous activity that I had done in a month, not to mention that it was blazing hot and that I had on a tactical vest that weighed about eight pounds. Adding to the heat and workout.

I fished out the water bottle that I had in my jacket as I downed it quickly, when there was only a little bit left I tipped it over my face to cool me down slightly. It worked, for a few minutes but I was tired again and sore.

I glanced up and noticed that I was lagging behind slightly, I held a hand to my stomach and willed the achiness to go away as I picked up the pace once more. I could feel myself getting more out of breath, which was entirely embarrassing as I can normally do a ten kilometer run in the blink of an eye, and a simple hike was tearing me down. Even Rodney was faster than me right now. It was around another hour before I couldn't take it any longer. The pain in my side was getting more annoying and achy as I stopped walking and hunched over. Sweat was dripping off my nose and forehead as I wiped it away, my legs, I now noticed, were shaking as I collapsed down onto the ground on the path. I couldn't even hold myself up as I fell back onto my butt and flopped onto my back. I took deep, gulping breaths as I shut my eyes against the harsh sun. I would probably take them a few minutes to realize that I was no longer following, but if they didn't, I'm pretty sure that this path would take me to this Chaya's place. There hadn't been any forks in the path and it just seemed to go in a straight line.

* * *

"Mia!" I heard Ford shouting for me. I must've dozed off for a few minutes because when I sat up they were a lot further away then before when I had stopped. I saw Ford and John jogging over to me; I gave them a sheepish wave as they reached me. I could see that both of them looked worried.

"Are you alright?" Ford asked, breathlessly.

"What happened?" John said quickly.

"I'm sorry," I said to both of them. "I was fine and then my side started to hurt, I haven't done any exercise like this for a month, and it's hot and it just needed to sit down," I explained, as John looked slightly relieved. He turned his head to Ford.

"Go on ahead to the others, we'll catch up." Ford nodded as he looked over at me as I tried to give him a reassuring smile. Truth was, I was now terrified to be alone with John. Ford hurried back over to the others and I saw them all begin walking again. "Here," I turned to John and saw he was holding out his water bottle for me. I thanked him and took it as I drank the water. "How long has it been hurting?" He asked me. I screwed the lid back on as I looked away from him, I knew I was going to get a lecture about not speaking up about my pain sooner.

"About an hour." I admitted. I heard him sigh heavily as the ground crunched and he sat down beside me.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked me as I handed him back the bottle. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't like to be weak," I mumbled.

"You're not weak." John stated. It surprised me, and I turned to look at him. "You stood up to Kolya, you defied all the odds against you by holding on when Carson told all of us to prepare for the worst. And honestly, you're one of the strongest people I have ever met, not just in kicking my ass. You've had to endure a lot in a short time, you shouldn't feel the need to hide your pain."

"I always have," I admitted. "My dad always taught me to never show weakness, to always be strong even when you can't lift your head up." I argued. John sighed.

"There are people here who you can trust."

"Like you?" I whispered, looking at him from the corner of my eye. I could see that he was staring at me.

"Well…yeah. And Ford, Teyla and even McKay." He said, I could tell that John wasn't very good with expressing feelings. He may be able to express with physical emotion but not with his words. I had to admit I was sort of the same, except for when we had our first kiss, which took a lot of courage for me to say.

"I feel much better, we should head off." I announced to him after that awkward conversation. John stood up quicker than me as he extended his hand down to me. I stared at it for a few seconds, like it was going to bite me or something when I finally reached out and grasped it. Like always when he touched my skin I felt my insides go warm and I had butterflies in my stomach, he pulled me up gently, we dropped our arms, our hands still connected. He intertwined our fingers together as I looked down at them, I reminded me of that time in his quarters, where we had shared our first kiss. I looked back up and met his hazel gaze, I could see his eyes flickering down to my lips then back up. I licked my lips; I wanted to kiss him so, so badly, to just feel that spark that I felt with him. And I could see him leaning in slightly, but we were on a mission, and the mission was priority.

I shuffled back; startling him as I quickly brushed passed him, "We should catch up." I said as I started walking along the path. I heard John grumble something under his breath, which I didn't catch.

"Mia," he called out. I stopped, scared to turn around but I eventually looked over my shoulder back at him. He was walking towards me, and I had to hold back from launching myself at him. As he reached me he spoke again, "I don't ever want to hear you call yourself weak again." He said as he walked passed me. I felt my mouth drop open and then I smirked to myself, I watched his back for a few seconds before I did something extremely bold. I hurried up to him, he heard my boots crunching under the dirt path as he tilted his head slightly. When I reached him I slipped my hand into his, our fingers interlacing once more. He looked down at me, shocked but then a grin spread over his features and I felt his hand tighten around mine.

* * *

It was only fifteen minutes later when we saw a large church like building in the distance. Reluctantly we let go of our hands as mine dropped to my side. We couldn't risk being seen by anyone. We still walked side by side as I watched the large stone building come closer into view. I could see that large trees and ferns surrounded it. Something that resembled ivy climbed the stonewalls and as we saw the entrance to the building I could spot the three abbots and the rest of the team standing outside. I shuffled a bit further away from John, as to not rouse suspicion from anyone on the team as we reached them. Rodney had a fixed pout on his face.

"Teyla suggested that we wait for you two before we meet Chaya." Ford explained as John nodded.

"Alright, let's go meet…Chaya." John said as he followed the abbots inside.

The old men entered first as they pushed open a bamboo type gate as it swung open and we followed inside. I was the last to enter the temple and the last person to see Chaya. And when I did, I felt my insides drop to the floor, the woman was beautiful. She had beautiful brown skin like Teyla's and dark brown eyes. Her hair was short and brown, and there was an aura surrounding her of beauty and grace that made me feel like a stick in comparison to her.

"Glory to Athar." Zarah greeted Chaya.

"Welcome, and rest." She spoke. I felt my mood grow sour, even her voice was beautiful; she was so regal.

"Thank you, sister." Zarah said as he moved out of the way so that John could greet her. I couldn't see his expression but I saw his body freeze up when he finally looked at her.

"You are new to Proculis." Chaya stated as she smiled at John.

"Yes. We're uh…brand new, in fact. Major John Sheppard." John reaches out his hand to give her a handshake. Chaya clasps it with both hands in her greeting. From in front of me I see Rodney turn his head and give Ford a look, who is directly in front of me.

"I am called Chaya Sar. And you are Teyla," she glanced over to look at Teyla who looked surprised. "Lieutenant Ford and Dr McKay," she looked at the men in front of me who I saw their mouths drop open. Her gaze then turned to me, she smiled, "And Lieutenant Mia Sumner." I frowned at her in confusion as Ford leaned back to me.

"How did she know that?" he asked. Rodney had heard him and replied.

"Oh, please. One of the abbots ran ahead." He muttered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chaya." John said to her.

"I bet it is," I grumbled under my breath.

"You must be tired after your long journey. Shall I prepare some tea for us?" Chaya offered as I saw Rodney perk up.

"Well, I was hoping you were going to say just that." John said, I could hear the smile in his voice as Chaya nodded as she motioned for the abbots to follow her as they disappeared into a room a bit further away. Once they were gone Ford walked over to John as they started talking and Rodney started bickering on about how he still didn't believe in this Athar, Teyla was trying to get him to be quiet. I unzipped my flak jacket as I placed on a nearby bench. My back praised me for that as I walked around the room, looking at all the exotic plants and ferns. There were some tapestries on the walls that I was trying to make sense of but they were in another language.

"So what do you think of Chaya?" I jumped in fright and spun around, John stood next to me with a smirk on his stupid face. I hadn't even heard him walk up to me, I must have been staring at the tapestry harder then I thought.

"She's…nice. Why do you ask?" I asked him, looking away as I reached out and flicked the nearest leaf to me.

"Well, every time you get a bad feeling about something it normally comes true." He joked. I gave a huff for a laugh as I inclined my head to look at him.

"She's a nice person, happy?" I snapped. John looked at me funny and was about to say something when one of the abbots emerged with a few cups of the tea Chaya talked about. We dragged some of the chairs into a circle as Teyla sat down with John next to her, then Rodney and Ford on the next bench. I sat down on the smallest bench so I wouldn't have to sit next to anyone. But I was still directly across from John. I didn't want to admit that I was jealous of Chaya, because I had no reason to be. John had just met the woman but yet I knew that he would be attracted to a beautiful, exotic alien female, it was natural. And plus we weren't even together, I still hadn't made up my mind about it, and right now, all I wanted to do was stake my claim. The other two abbots emerged with Chaya as Zarah handed me a cup of tea as Chaya sat down on the bench next to me, but closer to Teyla.

"So tell me about these creatures that Zarah has informed me that were chasing you?" Chaya asked. John nodded to Teyla to do the explaining. Teyla smiled at Chaya as she spoke.

"They are a race of predators that cull human planets. They feed off of humans and can destroy entire civilizations if they choose. They were recently all hibernating except for a few who would do culling's every couple of years, but now…more and more Wraith are awakening each day and they are culling whole planets. Only recently my own planet was culled by the Wraith. My people had to abandon our home and move to a new one, but even now we still fear an attack from the Wraith." Teyla spoke with sadness. Even now, after five months, thinking about how we had awoken the Wraith and caused all of this misery and mayhem still pained me. I felt my stomach drop once more and I saw Ford and Rodney look away sheepishly.

"And where do they come from, these Wraith?" Chaya asked.

"They seem to be everywhere in this galaxy, and they appear to have been on top of the food chain for a long time." John told her.

"It's terrifying. Truly terrifying," she mumbled. She looked at Teyla, "My heart goes out to your people, Teyla."

"It is not only my people who suffer, Chaya. The Wraith have awakened from a long sleep, and this entire world is safe from the culling that has already begun. Even Atlantis with all it's wonder, may not survive the onslaught. It is our hope that Athar could grant sanctuary here on Proculis." Teyla finally asked her.

"Sanctuary? For so many?" Chaya was a little surprised.

"Well, we're not talking about everybody in the galaxy showing up at your doorstep." John reasoned with her.

"This planet is pretty big, ma'am." Ford added.

"And it is largely uninhabited." Teyla said also.

"More importantly, it is protected by that weapon of yours." Rodney said. I saw all my teammates look at Rodney from out of the corner of their eyes.

"Weapon? I am aware of no such thing on Proculis." Chaya said, looking at Rodney in confusion.

"Are you sure about that?" John pressed her further.

"Yes." Chaya stated.

"Oh, please." Rodney moaned.

"Rodney, best behavior." John warned him.

"This is as good as it gets, Major," he snapped back, "Chaya, the only reason we're alive is because of a powerful energy weapon that emanated from somewhere on the surface of the planet. It destroyed the ships that were shooting at us. That weapon is what's keeping the Wraith away." Rodney said harshly.

"No, Dr McKay. It was Athar who protected you." Chaya said simply, obviously not offended by Rodney's harsh words.

"Athar?" Rodney said skeptically.

"Yes, Athar saw you were in need." Rodney looked like he was about to protest some more by John beat him too it, thankfully.

"Chaya, there are a lot of people just like…you and me, who are in need because of the Wraith. What you have here—what Athar has provided for you—is a very rare thing…but we have a lot to offer too. That's what friends do, they share. I think we could help each other." John explained to her. I watched Chaya, she seemed to ponder on this as she nodded.

"I understand. I shall consult with her now." She told us as she rose from her seat. John and Teyla stood up as well but she raised her hand, "Please, stay here. I don't know how long this will take." Chaya said as she walked up the stone stairs, all three of the abbots followed after her. Rodney waited a few seconds before he stood up and walked over to John and Teyla who had moved a bit further away. Ford came over to me as we joined them as well.

"What Athar provides for you? What? Are you buying into this?" Rodney demanded from John. John gave him a side look.

"Rodney…what religious people don't take their religion seriously?" He told him.

"We didn't imagine that weapon, Major. We saw it with our own eyes, and we saw what it was capable of." Rodney said, trying but failing to keep his voice hushed.

"Yes, we did." John replied.

"Perhaps Chaya is simply unaware of the weapon's existence." Teyla added in.

"Or she knows, and she want's to keep it a secret from us," Ford said suspiciously. I nodded.

"It could be another Genii incident. And Lord knows we don't need another one of them." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"She doesn't strike me as the lying type, either." John said, defending her. I felt my jealously rising when he said that. Rodney scoffed at him, obviously thinking that John was smitten with her. John gave him a glare, "All right, let's just see what Athar has to say." John said as he moved over to the bench he was on before and laid down on it, crossing his arms behind his head.

"So, 'pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,' hmm?" Rodney said gruffly.

"Exactly," John agreed, as Rodney rolled his eyes.

"Wizard of Oz, Rodney I'm impressed." I said teasingly with a grin as he glowered at me.

"My sister forced me to watch it when we were kids."

"And then you watched it over and over again by yourself."

"Shut up," he snapped at me. Ford and I laughed at him as Teyla looked confusingly between the three of us, obviously not getting the line from the movie.

* * *

We waited around for a few hours before Chaya finally returned to us, and as to be expected, Athar had denied our request for having refugees come to Proculis. Then it got awkward, Rodney started spitting out blasphemes words about Athar to Chaya and the abbots, and I was surprised that they all kept their cool. If I was in their position I would've flipped the hell out of Rodney, or beaten him up, whichever one would make me feel better. In the end John had ordered the four of us to start heading back to the jumper. Rodney wanted to protest but Ford and I practically dragged him from the temple. Teyla following behind us. As it was nearing the end of the day it wasn't as hot as it had been walking up to the temple. There was a nice evening breeze all around us as the four of us marched in single file back the way we came. It took two hours but we finally reached the jumper, Rodney was whining about his feet hurting as I opened up the rear hatch, the door lowered as Rodney collapsed into the chair and began to take his shoes off and rub his feet. I took off my flak jacket once more and draped it over my chair as I sat down in the co-pilot seat.

"Rodney can you put your shoes back on, the smell is about to make me keel over and die," I said to him as I spun around in the chair and glared at him. He ignored me and kept on rubbing his feet, much to everyone's displeasure. It was around fifteen minutes later when I heard boots enter the jumper; I looked up, delighted to see John when I felt my mood plummet. Behind him was none other then Chaya herself. She was gazing around the jumper in awe as John walked passed Rodney and smacked him on the shoulder.

"Give her your seat," John mumbled to Rodney. Rodney's mouth dropped open.

"What?" he whined. He was silenced by a very fierce glare from John as he groaned and moved to the rear compartment where Ford was taking a nap. John kicked his shoes after him and motioned for Chaya to come and sit in the chair. He dropped into his seat next to me as I looked away and started powering up the jumper. I pressed the button to close the rear hatch as John began flying the jumper towards the gate.

"Lieutenant dia—" John spoke but I cut him off by reaching over to the DHD and begun entering Atlantis' gate chevrons before he could even ask me to. I could feel his eyes on me and I could also feel another pair of eyes watching me. Once the gate was dialed I sent through my IDC as we flew through the gate.

The jumper rose up to the jumper bay as John set it down on the ground. Rodney breathed a sigh of relief as the door opened and we all filed out. I snatched my flak jacket off the back of the chair as I stormed passed my team and Chaya. I was not in a chatty mood right now, all I wanted to do was return my gear and then go hit the shit out of one of the punching bags. I heard Rodney speak from behind me. "What's up with Lieutenant Grumpy?"

* * *

I returned my gear as I headed over to the infirmary for the routine checkup from Beckett for all off world personnel. We were one of the last teams to come back in for the day so I was the only person in the infirmary, except for Beckett. He was sitting at his desk, typing away at his laptop when I came and stood next to his desk, "Evening, Lass. I trust no gunshot wounds or head wounds today?" Carson said with a smile. He moved me over to one of the scanners as I laughed.

"Sorry, Carson, not today unfortunately." I waited patiently under the scanner when I remembered the pain that I had today when walking for so long. "Carson, I had a pain in my side where my gun shot wound is. We were walking for a good two hours and it was hurting, anything to worry about?" I asked him as the scanner zipped overhead.

"It's probably the fact that you had a great deal of trauma in that area, and it was the first time you've been out in the field since your wound. I'd start to get back into a steady routine of training to strengthen you back up." He said with a smile. The scanner finished as I sat up on the bed. He took my blood pressure and a blood sample. "So I heard that the Major brought back an alien priestess." Carson said with a grin. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, he did. They have a weapon that protects the planet from the Wraith, he's trying to get her to disclose whether she knows about it or not."

"Aye, I hope he does, it's be a mighty thing to have." Carson agreed. He patted my arm, "Right, you're all done here lass, I'll let you know if anything shows up in your bloods but from what I can see you look perfectly fine." I jumped off the bed.

"Thanks, Carson. I'm going to head out before—" I stopped when the infirmary door opened and Chaya walked in, escorted by none other then John. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at it.

"Well, what's this now, a new patient?" Carson said cheerfully as Chaya walked up to him, John close behind. I tried to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room now as I skirted around the outside until I made it out of the door and was walking down the corridor. I heard the door to the infirmary door shut but I jumped when I felt a hand grip my upper arm and stop me from walking and spin me around. John was looking at me in confusion as I tried to wrench my arms from his iron grip, but it was no use.

"Let go," I said to him.

"Not until you tell me what's bothering you," he stated. I glared at him, men were so dense sometimes. It was annoying that he couldn't see what was bothering me, it was standing in the infirmary. I didn't want to tell him what was bothering me, because that would mean admitting that I wanted to be with him, and I don't think I had fully made up my mind about it yet. So instead, I resorted to the one thing I knew I was good at.

"Major," I said formally, "If you don't want your ass handed to you I suggest you let me go." I said venomously. He continued to stare at me, waiting to see if I would either tell him or take him down, which I was very prepared to do. Very slowly, I felt his hand release my arm, his fingers still encased my arm but I ripped it away from him as I spun on my heel and hurried away. I didn't look back.

I went straight to my room as I ripped my radio off my ear and threw it onto my bed, I didn't want to be disturbed for the rest of the night. I quickly wrote my report, which took about an hour as I dressed for the gym. I had on my pair of quarter length black sweatpants and a black sports bra. I took my hair out from the bun it had been in all day as I threw it up into a ponytail on the top of my head. I snatched my towel out of the bathroom and grabbed my gloves as I headed towards the gym. The good thing about my quarters was the fact that it was only a ten-minute walk to the gym. Most people had to get a transporter there it was so far away.

* * *

I arrived at the gym and there were only a few marines in here, they were sparring together as I walked around the room and to the punching bag. I had a lot of pent up anger and frustration that I was about to beat out of me. I warmed up, stretching my arms and neck around before I finally let loose on the punching bag.

I thought about the punching bag being John's face, seeing as he had pissed me off today, and he should be glad that I wasn't beating the shit out of the real thing. After a few minutes I could feel the sweat pouring off me in rivers, and my knuckles were sore as hell. I stepped back; I wasn't sure how long I had been going for, I was gasping for breath as I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand.

"Hey, Sumner!" One of the Marines called out. I turned around to face him and the other Marine. I think both men were wither my age or a little older than me, I recognized them though, the one who had called out was Nathan Fields and the other was Chris Porter. "Fancy a little spar?" Nathan asked me with a grin as Chris looked at him with wide eyes. Chris obviously knew of my reputation around here, Nathan obviously didn't or he thought he could take me.

"Alright," I agreed, smirking at him as I crossed my arms, "But I'm pissed off right now, and I won't be going easy on you." I warned him as Nathan scoffed. "Let's see what you've got then Fields." I said to him as I slipped off my gloves and threw them to the other side of the room. Nathan held his hands up in a defensive position as I took my stance. Chris backed off to the corner of the room, the kid was smart.

Nathan lunged for me as I ducked down, spun slightly and elbowed him in the gut. He yelped as I stood back and kicked my leg out, he went crumpling to the ground as I stood back. Nathan sprang back up as he lunged for me once again, I blocked his arm and he tried to sneak a hit to my stomach but I turned away, I was behind him now as I swung my leg out and hit him in the back as he went sprawling to the floor once more. He stood back up and this time I lunged for him, I caught him off guard as I went to punch him in the gut but he managed to block it, barely. We exchanged a few blows, he finally managed to get a good hit on my shoulder as I stepped back and he went for me. I grabbed his arm as I twisted it down as he yelped in pain and bent forwards. And just because I wanted to teach Nathan a lesson about picking on a person far more advanced then him I brought my knee up hard as I heard his nose crunch and he was knocked out cold. He fell to the floor, blood leaking from his nose as his head lolled to the side. I looked over at Chris, whose mouth was dropped open in shock.

"Take him to the infirmary. And tell him when he wakes up to keep practicing, cause one day he might just be able to fight me." Chris nodded as I collected my gloves and towel as I left the gym with a massive grin on my face. I could hear Chris trying to rouse Nathan from his sleep but I didn't care, most of my anger had diminished from that fight with Nathan and I felt a weight being lifted off my shoulders. I headed back to my quarters as I took a shower and settled down for the night.

* * *

I wasn't sure for how long I had been asleep for, but something had woken me up and I was continuously tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep once more. I decided that lying in my bed wasn't going to do anything so I dressed once more in my workout gear and tied up the laces on my trainers. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was only eleven at night, which means I had only been asleep for two hours. With that thought I headed out of my quarters. This run would be good for me; I hadn't done a good run in so long. My normal routine would be very early in the morning, I would jog all the way to my balcony, which was the south pier and then I would watch the sunrise for the day, then I would jog all the way back and get ready for either a mission or some mechanical issues that Rodney would reluctantly ask help for.

Seeing as I hadn't done this run in about a month due to my injury it was extremely hard for me to keep up with the pace that I normally did. But thankfully my adrenaline kicked in and helped me along. I think I was around ten minutes behind my normal time but it was better then not being able to do it at all. I was almost at the south pier door when I heard a melodious laugh, followed by a familiar bellow. I felt my body freeze up as I recognized the male laughter as John. I tip toed towards the door as I pressed my ear up against it.

"I wasn't completely truthful with you about something. On Proculis, when I told you I did not feel lonely. Coming here, and being around you two…it reminded me what it was like not to be alone." I heard goddamn Chaya say. I felt my stomach drop down to the ground completely, I wanted to turn around and leave but something made me stop. I didn't want to be made out a fool, and I didn't want to act like I just hadn't heard what I had heard. I tried to make my face as emotionless as possible as I waved my hand over the sensor. The doors slip open to reveal John standing above Chaya while the stupid priestess was sitting on some blanket. I quickly glanced around the setting; I saw a large wooden basket and various food and wine around them. John and Chaya both looked at me when they had heard the doors open. Chaya's face remained neutral as I turned my gaze to John.

"Ah, crap." I heard him mutter when he saw me. I guess what hurt as well was the fact that the south pier was where I always came to for sanctuary from everything. And here John was, with another woman, drinking wine and talking about feelings. Now that I had let him see me and know that I had heard what they had been talking about I spun on my heel dramatically and stormed off. It didn't surprise me when I heard running footsteps catching up to me. "Mia!" I heard John call out. I didn't pay any attention to it, I just kept on walking. "Mia!" He called out again. Finally he caught up to me, this time he didn't grab my arm but he did stand in front of me to block my way. I tried to move around him but he blocked me, he did it about three times before I snapped.

"Would you just move!" I cried out. He had a determined look on his face.

"Look, Mia, you don't understand—"

"Oh?" I cut him off, "I understand _perfectly_. Now go back to your alien love interest and leave me the hell alone!" I screamed at him. I shoved him out of my way as I took off running. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to catch up to me.

* * *

 **Insert agonising screams here.**

 **What has our Johnny boy done now!? Gosh those two aren't even together and he's screwing things up already! I know some of you have said that you dislike Chaya already so this gives you more ammo to hate her. On another note this chapter was so much fun to write, I love writing jealous characters it's so much fun. I hope you all enjoyed the kickassery I managed to squeeze in here, and keep an eye out on that Nathan Fields, he'll be making some more appearances.**

 **REPLIES**

 **parmakai66** \- Yeah I should have put a warning...maybe...let's say there's going to be more that are way worse, i'll let you know for those ones a haha xD in fact I just wrote one last night in season 2 and my dad walked into my room. fml, that's all I'm going to say about that. Well that pit in your stomach was right somewhat, John's an idiot. Thank you, yes I didn't really want to spend a lot of time taking about everything she did while she was crippled. I'd rather get back into the story. Thank you :)

 **09sasha** \- Not sure if he is favouring Chaya, but he is an idiot xD

 **Guest** **64** \- I know finally! It was a toss up between who was going to make the first move and originally I did have John do it but I thought it would be more suited if she did it seeing as she has more imposes and a bit more reckless than him. Mia's reaction's to Chaya is literally a mirror image of myself, the snappy comments and just grumpy are to die for I love her so much.

 **Adela** \- Well he got caught red handed...the silly man. Yes Mia does have walls that she's put up and John was slowly weaning his way through and now she's just completely blocked him out. But they have a confrontation in the next chapter so we'll see how it turns out.

 **Guest** \- hahaha your review made me laugh so hard. Sneaky witch that Chaya is, Mia needs to put her in her place! Thank you so much!

 **Alice** \- Tora - Oh wow thank you! Bonjour! That's really all i know in French xD


	17. Genesis - Chapter 17

**Hey guys! Enjoy this chapter! I will warn you this chapter gets a lil steamy ;) but enjoy it anyway.**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

In the morning I rolled out of bed sluggishly and dressed in my uniform for the day, it was a little later in the morning then I expected, my run and the little encounter with John and Chaya had worn me out thankfully. I was walking to the mess hall and passing by the control room when I heard the Stargate activate. I looked over my shoulder and stopped dead in my tracks. A bright, white light suddenly appeared as it went through the gate. I could hear a loud commotion in the control room as the gate shut down. I hurried into the control room and looked up to the balcony, I saw Elizabeth, John, Rodney and Teyla all standing around and looking at each other in confusion. Then John said something to Elizabeth as he suddenly ran from the control room and up to the jumper bay. I ran up the stairs and to the other members of my team and Elizabeth, "What did I just see?" I asked them all as Teyla turned to me.

"It seems that Chaya is an Ancient." My mouth dropped open in shock.

"What, really?" I asked them, Rodney nodded.

"She wanted to return to Atlantis for one last time, it's why she came here." He said to me. Suddenly, the jumper bay doors opened and I watched as a jumper descended into the control room. The front of it was facing our way at the consoles as I saw John alone in the jumper. For a split second he met my gaze as I looked away.

"Major, are you sure your know what you're flying into?" Elizabeth asked him over the comms system with the jumper.

"I have a pretty good idea the Wraith are attacking Chaya's people." I heard John's voice say. I look to Elizabeth as she looks stunned as the jumper began turning towards the gate. Elizabeth ran across the catwalk.

"You can't hope to defend them with one ship!" she yelled. But it was no use; he flew the jumper through the Stargate as it shut down behind him. Elizabeth walked back to us, but none of us were able to say anything to each other.

"She's an ascended Ancient," Rodney stated in awe. I looked at him in confusion.

"But if she was ascended then shouldn't she be, you know, that white light all the time?" I asked him.

"Not necessarily," he countered. "When Daniel Jackson ascended after he died he was able to regain his human form, albeit a long while later but Jackson wasn't an Ancient. Their brain chemistry is vastly different to ours, as we saw with Chaya, we just weren't able to compare it against any other Jackson lost his memory and could never use any of his ascended powers again."

"I didn't know that," I remarked absentmindedly.

"If Chaya is able to influence her ascended form at will—" Teyla said but she was cut off from Rodney.

"She's the weapon!" he said in triumph as Teyla and I gave him a pointed look. "She has to be, it makes perfect sense."

"Of course it does," I said sarcastically.

* * *

I was sitting in my room later that night; I had my book open on my lap as I sat cross-legged on my bed. My bedside lamp was the only thing giving me light as I yawned and checked the time on my watch on my wrist. It was only ten at night but I felt exhausted. I had already been for my nightly run and was showered with my hair brushed and damp. I was wearing my lilac silky singlet and matching long pants as I turned a page of my book.

The chime on my door went off suddenly as I glanced over to it, I could see a shadow on the other side of the door and I had a sneaking suspicion I knew exactly whom this was. I placed my bookmark in my book as I placed it on my bedside table as the chime went once more. I huffed in annoyance as I padded across the warm floor, I waved my hand in front of the sensor as the door slid open and to my (not) surprise, John stood there, still in his uniform.

I saw his eyes go up and down my body as I glared at him, "Go away." I waved my hand in front of the sensor as the doors started sliding shut again.

"No, Mia wait—" He was cut off as my doors locked shut once more. I was in no mood to deal with him right now; he could go jump off one of the spires for all I cared right now. I sat back down on my bed and as I reached over to grab my book once more I heard my doors unlock and slide open. I jumped up from my bed, as I watched John enter my room.

"What the hell?" I exclaimed. He looked from me to the door.

"McKay's been teaching me a few things." He said simply as I glowered at him. With my book in hand I chucked it at him.

"Leave me alone!" I cried out as he dodged the book with ease. He frowned at me and pointed his finger at me.

"That wasn't very nice," he whined slightly.

"I'm not a nice person," I grumbled as I crossed my arms over my chest, I was very aware of what I looked like in these clothes and although his stare wasn't making me uncomfortable it was still giving me shivers every time I saw his gaze wonder.

"I'm sure Sergeant Fields is telling himself that too." John remarked with a smirk as my glare hardened at him. Finally, after I had had enough I sighed and sat back down on my bed.

"What do you want, Major?" I asked him. John raised a hand over his heart.

"Ouch, going back to formal names now, you wound me Sumner."

"Good, maybe you'll leave." I snapped at him. John bent down and picked up the book I had thrown at him as he walked towards me as I braced myself, I had to be strong.

"Look," he said as he dropped the book on my bed next to me, "I know what you saw yesterday may have looked bad."

"May have?" I said in disbelief. I turned away from him; he walked in front of me so that I had to look at him. He gave me a smug look as I returned it and spun around on my bed and scooted over to the other side. I heard him sigh in annoyance.

"Will you just let me explain? You didn't give me that chance last night." I didn't face him; I made no indication that I was bothered. All I wanted was for him to leave me alone; I had been hurt too many times in my life. "Mia…" He spoke my name. It took all of my willpower to stay still, but inside, I was melting into goo from him saying my name. "I'm not good with all this expression stuff, but I can understand what you must be feeling. All I want you to know is…Chaya was helping me…with you." That peaked my interest; I turned my head slightly so that I could see him out of the corner of my eye. He wasn't looking at me, but at some photos that I had on my nightstand of Ford and I when we were kids.

"What do you mean?" I finally said, making him turn and look at me. I stood up from my bed and faced him.

"Chaya knew…about us, I don't know how but she offered to give me a few pointers on what to do." He explained. I continued to stare at him until I dropped my arms.

"You could have just told me." I said to him. He looked around the room nervously, obviously thinking that would've helped but he didn't think of it at the time.

"Would you have minded?" He said, raising a brow in question.

"Probably," I shrugged, "But it would've been better then me running in on you on a picnic with her." I frowned at the memory.

"Teyla's idea." He defended. He then got a sultry look on his face as he started walking around my bed. "So does that mean I'm forgiven?" He stopped before me, our chests almost touching as he reached out a hand to cup my cheek. Instead, I grabbed his wrist and bent his arm behind his back, he whined in pain as I leant into his ear.

"Not by a long shot, Major." I whispered as I started marching him towards my door.

"I like it when you call me Major," he said, trying to flirt as I rolled my eyes. I waved my hand over the sensor as I shoved him out.

"And if you ever break into my room again, I'll break your fingers." I threatened halfheartedly as John eyed me up.

"You don't mean that," he smirked. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Try me." I waved my hand over the sensor and as the doors were closing he spoke.

"What? No goodnight kiss?"

I shook my head to myself as I felt a grin spread over my lips, but I was still mad at him. I waited until I saw his shadow leave and then I hurried over to my bed and bounced onto it like a child. I hugged one of my pillows to me as I reached over to the lamp beside me and switched it off. The moonlight streamed into the room but it didn't bother me, and I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

* * *

When my alarm woke me two days later I groaned and rubbed my eyes, I picked out the little crusty particles from my eyes as I threw the blanket off me and changed into my running gear, which was a black tank top and grey sweatpants. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail as I did my laces up on my shoes and left my room.

I was running my usual route, all the way towards the south pier, even after only four days, I could feel my normal strength and stamina returning to me, which made me push myself harder. After twenty minutes of hardcore running I made it to the door, I stopped before I opened it as I caught my breath. I leant over on my knees as I took a few deep breaths and wiped the sweat off my forehead. I waved my hand over the sensor as the morning breeze hit me. I welcomed the salty sea air as I stepped out into the sunshine and saw something I didn't expect.

"What are you doing?" I asked John. Who was standing behind a large red blanket that had food set out on it.

"You're right on time," he said, glancing down at his watch and tapping it with his finger. He then pointed to all the food, "This is breakfast," he said in a cheerful tone and with a grin.

"I already ate." I stated, crossing my arms. John smirked.

"No you haven't, you go for a run at oh-six-hundred, you return at oh-seven-hundred and then you leave for breakfast at oh-seven-thirty." He said. My jaw dropped.

"Are you a stalker?" I questioned him.

"No," he said simply, "I just made all that up, but judging by how far your jaw dropped to the floor I'd say I hit the spot." He grinned at me as I frowned at him. I seemed to do a lot of frowning around him.

"You just don't give up, do you?" I chuckled as he clasped his hands together and rubbed them.

"Nope, now get over here before everything gets cold." He motioned to come and sit down as I watched him take his seat on the blanket. I couldn't deny it any longer, I wanted to be with him, and this just showed me how much he truly wanted to be with me, if he didn't, I doubt he would've gone to all this much trouble just for me. I walked forwards and sat down on the blanket opposite him, I glanced around at all the food. There were pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages, orange juice and a lot of different fruit. I looked up at him as he plopped a grape into his mouth.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him. He seemed confused by my question.

"Isn't it obvious? This is my way of apologizing." He nodded to all the food again. I felt my mouth twitch into a smile as I reached for the juice. "Well, is it working?" He asked me, I laughed and shrugged.

"So far, so good, Major." We ate for a while before he spoke again.

"So I want you to tell me something that no one else knows." He said. I looked over at him and laughed.

"That's kind of hard seeing as Ford knows everything about me."

"Everything?"

"Everything." I said with a pointed look. John looked like he was thinking really hard about something, but then I thought about the situation I was in. I knew that John wanted us to be together, hell, he had put this breakfast together so that he could apologize for being a jerk, and yet I hadn't told him about Liam. I felt like I had to, if we were going to be together and there was a very good chance that we were, he needed to know.

I reached into my tank top and grabbed ahold of my dog tags; John gave me a strange look, wondering what the hell I was doing. I pulled out the chain as they jingled together, and something else was hanging between them. It was a ring. I held the ring in the palm of my hand; I could feel John's stare on me as I cleared my throat.

"I was engaged." I revealed. I met his gaze, as he looked surprised, I guess he didn't think I would reveal this. "But before I tell you about that, I need to tell you about my mom." I cleared my throat once more, "My dad told me, one day, when I was two, my mom and I were driving to my granddad's house, he lived a few hours away from us and my dad was on assignment so he wasn't with us. He was protecting his country, but he wasn't there to protect us. As we were driving, her steering wheel stopped working and we were going to drive off into a ditch. My mom knew that we'd both die if she didn't do anything, so before we went off the road, she threw herself over me, to protect me. The car went into the ditch and she was killed instantly." I didn't shed any tears, I didn't remember this and I had no memories of my mom. Even though it was sad, I had dealt with it a long time ago. "When they finally found me, it was four hours later and her body was still shielding mine. I survived with nothing but a scratch of my face."

I could see John was listening very carefully, his expression was stony but I knew that he was just hiding his emotions; it's what I do when something like this happens.

"And then there was Liam." I began again, I held the ring in my hand again as I held it tightly.

"He died two years ago."

"Mia, I'm sorry." John said. He scooted closer to me so that our shoulders were almost touching. "He was a Major in the Marines," I smirked and looked over at John. "We had been together for four years when he proposed." I could feel my throat tightening as the tears started to build up. "He was on assignment in Afghanistan. One day while they were doing routine patrols some Taliban set up an ambush for his patrol. Everyone in his squadron was killed."

"From then on I couldn't take the heartbreak anymore, I went down a dark tunnel, I stopped going to my base, I got into some really bad drugs. I was ruining my life but I didn't care, everyone I had ever loved kept on dying on me, I thought I was cursed. Eventually my Commanding Officer found me a year later, and they gave me a second chance if I got my act together. I was demoted to Lieutenant again but I hadn't lost my position, and it was only recently that I found out that it was thanks to my dad."

"What did he have to do with it?" John asked, completely engrossed in the story.

"Elizabeth gave me a letter while I was in the infirmary after the Genii attack, it was from my dad to my CO. He pleaded with them to not dishonorably discharge me, but give me a second chance. He explained everything to them, dad obviously knew because Liam was in the Marines. But I did it, I got clean and I went on living, that was until six moths ago when I got a letter from Elizabeth asking me to come meet her about the expedition."

"And then you met me," John said with a smile. I leaned into his shoulder as I felt his arm come around and rest on mine, his hand tightened on my shoulder.

"When did you know, that you had feelings for me?" I asked him. He pondered it for a moment, "I think it was when we got captured by the Genii. When they brought you into the room kicking and screaming. Cowan hadn't told us where you were and I thought that he was going to kill all of us, but when I saw you that day, everything changed. Although I didn't admit it to myself until Kolya had told me that he had killed you. And if you must know, I found you extremely attractive the first time I laid eyes on you in the SGC."

"Until you found out who may dad was." I said sarcastically.

"That just made you more attractive in my eyes, I could tell that you were a badass the moment I saw you, having to put up with him all your life."

"He was as strict as they come." I admitted with a laugh, "He made sure that I knew how to protect myself and kick ass. It was always his wish that I follow in his footsteps, there was no time for Barbies just GI Joe action figures, mind you I was never into that girly crap anyway."

"What about you?" He smirked, "When did you realized you were attracted to Major John Sheppard?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"When we were dealing with the whole Teyla necklace thing, on the planet where you got stunned and you came to apologize to me but we got interrupted by the Wraith. You took my hand as we were running and I tried not to but I felt something." John smiled at the memory. My hand reached to my dog tags and to the ring as I held it once more, the memories of Liam were strong right now, but every time I thought about John and I, the pain faded and it was replaced with an old emotion that I thought I would never feel again. With my other hand I raised it up to his face as I caressed his cheek, his stubble tickled my hand gently as he gazed into my eyes and I into his hazel one.

"I haven't been with anyone since Liam…I'm scared, what if—"

John cut me off with a searing kiss, and I felt all my worries disappear. I felt his hands come up to my face as his hands caressed my cheeks. Sometimes I would think that our last kiss was only a dream, but I knew it was real, and this moment was real, and what I felt was real. Our lips moved in sync with each other as I moved my hand from his cheek and to his shoulder, my other arm was holding me up. As we were kissing, John bit down on my bottom lip gently as I gasped and he used that opening to stick his tongue in my mouth, it was warm and wet as our tongues danced around each other. His hands that were still cupping my face moved down to my neck as he pulled me closer to him, I moved the hand that was on his shoulder around to his neck as I tried to move up onto my knees so that I wasn't leaning on my other arm. I managed it as my free hand trailed down his shirt, I felt his strong muscles underneath my hand and I smirked when I felt his stomach tense. It was only then that I realized I was still in my stinky workout gear, I probably smelt like a disgusting pig. I pulled away from him, still sitting on my knees.

"I should head back, I need to shower—I'm probably stinking up the place." I said with a chuckle.

"Well I wasn't going to say anything but…" John teased as I pouted and smacked him lightly with the back of my hand. We packed up the uneaten food and rubbish back into the woven basket as we left the south pier. John held the basket it one hand and he reached out with his other hand to grab mine, our fingers linked as I felt a warmth spread from my fingers all the way up my arm and through my whole body.

* * *

It was a long walk back to the central tower, running it took me twenty minutes so walking would be close to forty-five minutes. And seeing as John had gotten so much out of me this morning about my personal life it was time to return the favor.

"So, Major," I said as he turned his head to look down at me, "Tell me about your love life, seeing as you got mine out of me." John looked around nervously. "Surely I'm not the only girl you've used your flyboy charm on." I said with a smirk as he rolled his eyes.

"I was married once," he said.

"Really?" I questioned him. John stopped walking as he turned to look down at me.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Well no, it's just…I didn't expect it, that's all." I muttered as we began walking again.

"We divorced about a year and a half ago. I was always away on missions and with the whole security clearance I couldn't tell her everything and it used to make her pissed. Finally she'd had enough and we went our separate ways." John explained.

"How long were you married for?" I enquired.

"About three years, but we'd been together for two before that and we'd been on and off for a couple of years." He said. I noticed that from his expression he didn't really mind talking about this, and it didn't feel awkward. We'd both had different lives before meeting each other; it was just a part of life.

We chatted about nonsense things the rest of the way back to the main central tower of Atlantis, our hands stayed connected the entire time we walked, but I knew that it was going to come to an end shortly, we'd soon be coming up on the living quarters and people would be moving around the city, and it was too risky to be seen like this. When we stopped at the door that lead back into the living quarters John stopped me by tugging on my hand.

"What?" I asked him.

"You know you actually never gave me an answer, so I'm taking this all as a yes to being with me?" He said uncertainly. I grinned and stood up on my toes, I leaned in as I placed a kiss upon his lips. I pulled back.

"That's a yes, Major." He gave me a lazy grin as he leaned down and planted a hard kiss on my lips, I felt my head swooning as his hand wrapped around the back of my neck. As quickly as he had leant in to kiss me he pulled back, my lips felt slightly bruised from the force of his kiss.

"I'm heading on over to the Mainland later today to check up on the Athosian's, care to join?" John asked me.

"Sure, as long as I can fly?"

"No," John said simply.

"But you never let me fly!" I whined.

"And for good reason," John smirked as I pouted.

"I'm a natural, you said so yourself." I crossed my arms over my chest as John grinned down at me.

"We'll see, meet me in the Jumper bay in two hours." He said. I was still pouting at him as he leant down once more and pressed a kiss to my lips, I didn't respond to it as he pulled away laughing, and went through the door. Once he was gone I waited a few minutes before I went through the door, it felt weird, having to hide our relationship from everyone, but we both knew the consequences. If anyone ever found out we'd both loose our jobs and be dishonorably discharged from service. Why we both still pursued this was beyond me.

I got back to my quarters, showered and changed into a clean uniform and brushed my hair out and left it down, technically I wasn't on duty right now. As I pulled on my jacket over my shoulders my chime went for my door.

I walked over to it, knowing that it wasn't going to be John seeing as I was meeting him in a half hours time. I waved my hand over the mechanism and the doors slid open to reveal Teyla.

"Teyla," I said with a smile. Teyla smiled back.

"I was just heading over to the mess hall for breakfast and was wondering if you would like to join me?" She asked me.

"Oh," I said in surprise, "I'm sorry Teyla I already ate." With John Sheppard, but I can't tell you that.

"It is alright," she said.

"How about tomorrow?" I asked her. Teyla grinned at me.

"Very well, tomorrow then, shall I come by at eight o'clock?"

"Sounds perfect." Teyla turned away as I called out to her, "Teyla!" She stopped and turned. "I'm heading on over to the Mainland with Major Sheppard, are you coming?" She shook her head.

"I returned from there this morning, I stayed overnight. I believe Jinto still has his little, uh, crush on you." I rolled my eyes as Teyla laughed and walked away from my room.

Once she was gone I zipped up my jacket and tied my shoes up on my feet, then I was ready to go and meet John. I headed on over to the jumper bay, I got to the control room and saw Grodin at the comms as I walked into the control room.

"Major Sheppard's already up in the jumper bay," he said to me as I thanked him and walked up the stairs. I went to the first jumper and stuck my head around the corner to look in; John was sitting in the pilot seat with his feet up on the dash and one arm thrown over his eyes. I entered the jumper as I hit the button to close up the cargo door. The noise jolted him from his sleep as he sat up; he glanced down at his watch.

"You're early, Lieutenant, that's a first." He said with a smirk. I quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm just _so_ eager to fly this hunk of junk." I said, patting the rear hatch door twice. John smirked as he patted the co-pilot seat. I wagged my finger.

"No, I'm flying. I never get to."

"You just called it a hunk of junk, you hurt it's feelings." John said, grinning. I rolled my eyes as I walked over to him, I trailed my hand across his shoulder and down his arm, I batted my eyelashes at him as I saw a dark look come over him. I knew what I was doing to him, and I didn't care.

"Please?" I pouted my lip as I ran my fingernails up his bare arm. I could see John's fingers twitching as he leant closer to me.

"No," he said curtly.

"Fine," I said smugly as I crossed my arms. I moved around him so that I had to scoot to be in front of him, I knew that my ass was right in his face as I sat down onto his lap hard. He grunted from the force of me sitting on him. "Are we ready?" I said casually.

"Mia," he groaned. I pretended to ignore him.

"This chair is really uncomfortable," I said as I wiggled my hips on him, trying to get comfortable. His hands gripped my waist tightly as I felt a jolt like I always did from feeling his hands on me. I could feel his manhood growing hard under me as I wiggled some more, "Is that your sidearm?" I said, placing a finger to my chin. I turned my head to look at him from out of the corner of my eye. His expression was hilarious; he looked both aroused and furious at the same time. He seemed to give up then as he stood up from the chair, still holding onto my waist tightly as I rose with him. He moved out from behind me and sat himself into the co-pilot chair; he looked over at me and glared as I plopped back down into the chair with a wolfish grin.

"You're a tease, you know that?" He snapped. I chuckled as I started up the jumper.

"I know." I said sweetly to him as I took the jumper out of the bay.

* * *

Twenty-five minutes later I was landing the jumper down on the Mainland. We were just outside the settlement as I pressed the button for the cargo bay door to open as John and I rose from our seats. I started walking towards the hatch first when before I got outside I felt a sharp snap to my ass. My hand instinctively went to my rear as I spun around openmouthed and glared at John. He was grinning to himself as he passed me.

"Now who's the tease?" I grumbled to him as I followed after him. We got to the settlement as I spotted Jinto running over to us.

"Mia! Major Sheppard!" He called out to us both as he hugged me around the waist. He high-fived John and then turned back to me. "It's been so long since you've come to see us," Jinto said with a slight pout. I chuckled as I ruffled his long hair.

"I'm sorry, it's been pretty busy in Atlantis lately." I explained.

"It doesn't matter, you're here now! Will you come see father?" Jinto asked, pointing off towards his home.

"Of course," I said with a grin. "I'm sure Major Sheppard would love to as well." I looked at him as he grinned.

"I'll be there soon, there is something I have to pick up." He swiftly walked away as I frowned in confusion. I looked back to Jinto.

"Lead the way," I said to the young boy as he grinned up at me and began leading me towards his home.

Halling was pleased to see me, as always. He made tea for the three of us as we sat around the low table as I brought them up to speed on some of the happenings on Atlantis, minus the details of John and I. Around twenty minutes into me telling Halling and Jinto about our encounter with Chaya, the Ancient, John walked in with a small wrapped object under his arm. Halling offered him some tea, which he declined and said that we should return to Atlantis. I finished the rest of my tea and thanked Halling as we said goodbye.

"I'll try not to be away for too long." I told Jinto as he nodded ecstatically. He hugged me once more as Halling and I touched foreheads in the proper parting way. John and I left their home as we walked side by side towards the jumper.

"What's that?" I asked him, pointing to the object under his arm. John brought it up and began to unwrap it. He handed me to beautifully polished wooden jar as I examined it. "It's beautiful." I said, opening it up and looking inside. "What's it for?" I asked him, handing it back to him as he wrapped it back up in the cloth.

"It's Elizabeth's birthday tomorrow, I asked one of the Athosian's to make something for her." He explained as I stopped in my tracks.

"What? It is? I have to get her something," I said, panicking. Why couldn't he have told me this before? John laughed.

"I doubt she'll string you up for not getting her anything. She hasn't mentioned it to anyone, I found out cause I was snooping through people's files." He said cheekily.

"You have access to everyone's files anyway, it's hardly snooping." I said with an eye roll as he playfully nudged me.

"Now if I didn't snoop, what fun would it be knowing that I could tease you with the fact that it's your birthday in exactly two months." He grinned slyly.

"Doesn't surprise me, you and Rodney are more alike then you think, remember when he snooped through mine?"

"And you made him wet his pants," John said, laughing. We arrived back at the jumper as we both walked in and I sat down in the pilot seat without any resistance from John.

"Not one of my finer moments, but I'm pretty sure he hasn't done any snooping anymore."

"Probably because he's scared you'll shoot him." John said. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It got the point across, didn't it?" I said to him, looking at him from over my shoulder.

I flew us back to Atlantis; all the while John was trying to get out of me what I wanted for my birthday. Even though resources were very limited here in the Pegasus Galaxy he was still listing stuff off that would be impossible for him to get. Though it was touching that he was thinking about my birthday even though it was still so far off.

Twenty-six years old. Who knew at twenty-six I'd be in a different galaxy flying in a spaceship towards the lost city of Atlantis, sitting next to my Commanding Officer who was sort of my boyfriend. If we all made it out alive from this galaxy and from the Wraith I really needed to see a therapist.

"Control room, this is jumper one, we are two minutes out from Atlantis," I said into the radio.

" _Affirmative jumper one, bay doors are open."_ Came the reply a few seconds later. I glanced over at John, he was picking dirt out from under his nails, he'd been quiet the last ten minutes of flight. I glanced back out the window as I saw Atlantis come into view. It took my breath away every time I saw it; it was so huge and ancient. I flew us into the jumper bay as I set the jumper down on the ground with little to no shake. I was pleased with myself as I stretched out in the seat, it had been a cramped up twenty-five minutes in that chair. I stood up and walked into the rear compartment, I was waiting for John to hit the button for the cargo bay door, but instead I hear the compartment doors close. I turned around, going to ask him what was going on when his two strong hands gripped my face and he crashed his lips onto mine. If I wasn't so surprised I would've asked him what the hell he was doing, but instead I melted into goo at his feet. My hands gripped his shirt tightly as I tugged him closer to me so that our chests were touching, my hands moved up his shirt and to his neck as I wrapped my arms around him. This time he didn't have to bite my lip to get my mouth open as I welcomed him, he hands moved down my waist as they left a hot trail on top of my jacket. His hands gripped my waist as he jerked my hips into his. I gasped when I felt his manhood press against me as I felt myself slowly start to lose myself. John moved his lips from my mouth and down my jaw and to the hollow of my neck. I felt his warm tongue against my skin and felt the pinch of his teeth as I gasped again. I could feel the knot tightening up in my lower stomach with every touch and kiss he was giving me. I felt us moving as he turned me around and then I felt my back hit the rear compartment doors as his lips moved back up my neck as he kissed me full on the mouth once more.

One of his hands trailed down my thigh as he lifted it up as I hooked it around him, our areas were perfectly lined up now as he continued to rock himself into me. Each time a spark of pleasure shot up me as I moaned into his mouth. I could hear little pants coming out of John's mouth every time as well which turned me even more on. My fingers dug into his back, I could feel the knot growing tighter and tighter, and my moans were becoming louder and louder.

And then he pulled away.

The warmth left me as my leg dropped down and I stared at him, he was smirking at me in a sly way as I suddenly realized that this was payback for me teasing him in the seat. "You're a dick." I stated as I watched him open up the compartment doors and hit the cargo bay door button. The cargo bay door dropped down as he passed me once more.

"I know." He said with a grin. I glared at him as I watched him leave, I sighed in annoyance. Stupid Major.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed! I didn't want to have them fighting for too long because they are just too adorable together! Thank you everyone for reviewing and alerting, it's always a pleasure to hear about what you thought of the chapter! See you all next week.**

 **REPLIES**

 **Guest** **64** \- I know, I felt so bad to do that to her but it had to happen! That fight scene was very funny to me, Mia has a little bit of an anger problem.

 **09sasha** \- Is two days ok? ahah I couldn't have them be mad at each other for too long. And don't worry, Mia will have someone to make John jealous with it's coming! He's such a guy for doing that, a big ole' idiot. Thank you so much :)

 **Adela** \- Yeah John hurt her now he has some asskissing to do to make it up to her!

 **parmakai66** \- I don't like to hurt my little Mia but it had to happen for her to realise that she wanted to be with him! I love dramaaaaa so there wasn't really much of a chase but there will be a big one coming up which is amazing, I don't want to spoil anything but gahhh. She has some anger issues xD


	18. Genesis - Chapter 18

**WARNING; WARNING; WARNING; Extremely mature scene coming up! The very thing everyone has been waiting for. Rating definitely goes up to M for this. Enjoy everyone! ;)**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis.**

* * *

I didn't see John the rest of the day; I spent the rest of the day in one of the unoccupied science labs going over Ancient text and the puddle jumper texts. I was researching the power source that powered them and was trying to see if we could harness it somehow. When I looked at my watch and saw that it was dinnertime I packed away my stuff and headed down to the mess hall. Halfway there I ran into Sergeant Fields, the one who I had beaten up the other day. His eyes were bruised and his nose was swollen and purple. He seemed a little scared to see me.

"Sergeant." I nodded.

"Lieutenant," he replied. I felt extremely awkward around him as I started picking my nails.

"Sorry about your nose." I apologized to him, giving him a sincere smile. Nathan shrugged his shoulders.

"It's alright, ma'am. I was being stupid, going up against you." He joked. I tried to laugh with him but I grimaced. I watched his gaze, as he seemed to look at something on my neck, I frowned at him.

"What?" I asked him.

"You've uh…" He said slowly. He looked nervous. "Did you know you've got a, um." He pointed in the region of my neck as my hand clamped over it.

"What?"

"A hickey." He whispered. My eyes went wide as I felt my mouth drop open. Damn him. That must've been why John was grinning so much when he left.

"Goodnight, Sergeant." I said hurriedly as I spun around on my heel and marched off. When I was out of his sight I began sprinting to my quarters, not before I zipped up my jacket all the way to my neck.

I waved my hand over my sensor about five times before I waited for it to slowly and painfully open. I ran inside and ran into my bathroom, I unzipped my jacket and stared at myself in the mirror. In the hollow of my neck was a purple bruise.

I leaned forwards and banged my head against the mirror repeatedly. Hoping that somehow, someway it would magically disappear from my skin. I leaned back and examined it again, while pulling a disgusted look at it.

I changed into my running gear, but I didn't have any shirts that would cover up the bruise, I was refusing to even call it by it's true name, so I had to wear my jacket and zip it all the way up. I knew I'd be hot in the jacket so instead of wearing my sweatpants I put on my shorts and slid into my trainers. And vowed to myself that the next time I saw John Sheppard I was going to beat the shit out of him.

* * *

When I returned from my run I headed directly to my shower and hopefully scrub the infernal bruise off of my skin. Honestly I couldn't walk around base with it on my neck; it was like a giant neon sign saying 'slut' or something. And I didn't need Ford or Teyla or even Rodney snooping in on who had actually given me said bruise. I'm sure that would play out very well if it got back to Elizabeth. I washed my hair and body and rinsed all the soap out as I stopped the shower and stepped out. Though probably the best thing about Atlantis was the shower, there was a giant head at the top and then two more angled slightly down so you were always covered in water, it was amazing. And the water was always set at the perfect temperature.

I dried my hair with the towel and wrapped another fluffy white one around my body, the door slid open as the steam from the bathroom fanned out, I stepped into my room and screamed. John was sitting on my bed with a smirk on his face. I almost slipped over from my damp feet as I held a hand to my heart and tried to calm down my racing heart.

"What are you doing?" I glared ferociously at him. John leaned back on his hands on my bed.

"Admiring my handiwork." He said simply. I realized that he was referring to the bruise on my neck as I glared at him with so much hate that if looks could kill he would have been dead three years ago. I then ignored him as I walked over to my draws and picked out my nightclothes, I turned around to face him.

"Didn't I say that I would break your fingers if you ever broke into my room again," I stated.

"You wouldn't really," he said with a cheeky grin. I held up my fingers close together.

"I'm this close to breaking your goddamn jaw for what you gave me." I growled at him.

"Pleasure?" John said sultrily. I reeled back, I felt my cheeks redden as I spluttered out a few words, not entirely sure with what to reply. I started marching over to my bathroom with my clothes in hand.

"You better be gone by the time I get out." I threatened as the doors shut behind me. I quickly changed into my baggy shirt and shorts and brushed out my hair. I brushed my teeth and moisturized all my limbs and face as I took a deep breath, glared at the bruise once more and left my bathroom.

And he was still sitting there. I placed a hand on my hip and cocked my hip as I saw his eyes rake up and down my long legs. I ignored him as I walked to my bed and drew back the covers, I could feel his smirk and eyes on me as I huddled under the covers, he was near the end of the bed so I could stretch out.

"Goodnight," I said sleepily. "I'm sure you can show yourself out." I said as I rolled over and faced away from him. I heard him get off the bed, but then I heard his shoes come off. I shot up in my bed, staring at him as he pulled off his shoes. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I said in shock.

"Getting ready for bed," he said.

"Not here you're not," I defended. I pulled the covers up to cover me. I watched him as he gripped the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. I had to control myself as I finally got to look at him shirtless. I knew his arms were muscled from all the times I had touched them, and I knew that he was defined in the stomach from running my hands up him, but seeing his naked torso with my own eyes was a sight to behold. His tags jingled together and I suddenly imagined my hands running up his chest and through his dark chest hair. I ripped my eyes away from him, before I could see his stupid grin as I flopped back onto my bed and pulled the covers over my head.

I heard his belt buckle undo as I bit my lip, I heard his pants drop to the floor as my heart rate picked up once more. The cover was pulled away from my head as John looked down at me as I stared up at him. I scooted over, allowing him to slide in beside me. I felt his bare legs on mine as I rolled over so that I was facing him. I could see his eyes scanning over my face as I spoke.

"I…" I said, but I felt too embarrassed to say what I was feeling. "I want to…" I said but stopped again. I could see on his face that he wanted me to say what I was feeling. "I want to take it slow, I haven't been in any type of relationship for two years so it's all new to me again, and I don't want to screw anything up." I admitted to him.

"We'll take it slow," he agreed as he leant forwards and pecked me on the nose. I smiled in contempt as I rolled back over to my other side. Why couldn't they make the beds just a little bit bigger? There was just enough room for both of us, and we were barely touching. I felt John's hand snake over my waist and come to rest on my stomach as his hand curled under me and pulled me flush against him. We were now molded against each other as I placed my hand over his as I felt his warm breath on the back of my neck. And for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel any sadness in my heart. I felt whole and complete and utterly safe. And it was all thanks to John Sheppard.

* * *

Something woke me up in the morning, but I didn't know what it was. I rubbed my eyes and looked over to my left. John was still sound asleep, his mouth slightly parted and a soft snore coming out of his mouth. I was lying on my back, but his arms still encased me. My mind then wondered to what had awoken me as I looked around, and then I heard my door chime go off. I saw the silhouette of a person at my door as I shot up in my bed. I turned to John and shook his shoulder, "John wake up." I hissed at him. He mumbled incoherently as I watched his hazel eyes slowly open. "There's someone at the door," I said to him as I saw his eyes widen slightly. I jumped out of the bed as John groaned softly, still half asleep as I ran around the other side of the bed and pulled him up, and then proceeded to push him into the bathroom. Before the door shut I admired his butt. The door chimed again as I ran over to it, pulling up the collar of my shirt to hide the bruise as I waved my hand over the sensor. The doors slid open to reveal Teyla.

"Good morning," she said pleasantly. I looked at her with a confused expression, what was Teyla doing here so early in the morning? "You forgot?" She asked me. I tried to rake my brain for something that I was missing when it hit me, I had agreed to go for breakfast today with her.

"Oh! Of course not! What time is it?" I said more to myself as I turned around to look at my alarm clock, it ticked over to seven fifty-eight as my eyes were drawn to two pairs of combat boots, a large pair of pants, shirt and jacket that obviously weren't mine, in the middle of my room. I felt my stomach drop to the ground as I spun back around to Teyla. "Teyla." I said with a smile, hoping to every single god that she had not seen all the clothes on the floor. "Just give me five minutes," I held up a finger as I closed the doors and ran over to John's clothes. I gathered them up in my hands as I opened the bathroom door and chucked them at him. He was standing were I had left him, rubbing his eyes. He grunted when the clothes hit him. "Get dressed." I ordered as I ran over to my draws and quickly changed into a fresh uniform. I slipped on my shoes and pulled my hair up into a ponytail and zipped up my jacket all the way to the top. With that I opened up the door once more as Teyla greeted me with a smile. "Ready," I announced as I linked my arm with hers as we walked towards the mess hall.

We arrived at the busy mess hall as Teyla and I take our trays and sit at an unoccupied table. "So what did you do on the Mainland yesterday?" Teyla asked me as I dug into my scrambled eggs and toast.

"Saw Halling and Jinto, and Major Sheppard picked up a gift for Elizabeth, it's her birthday today." I told Teyla. Teyla seemed a little surprised at hearing about Elizabeth's birthday and looked a bit embarrassed that she hadn't gotten her anything. "We're supposed to be exploring the city today, aren't we?" I asked Teyla as her mind was taken off Elizabeth as she smiled and ate her fruit.

"Yes, I believe it will be very exciting."

"Or boring," I said sullenly. Teyla laughed at me. "It's just going to be dark, damp and dirty. And a waste of time."

"Don't say that, Lieutenant," a new voice joined us as I looked up and saw John set his breakfast tray down next to Teyla.

"Good morning, Major." Teyla greeted him as he sat down next to her. Another second passed and Ford appeared at my side and set his own tray down. He gave me a grin as he nicked a piece of my toast quickly and I smacked him on the arm. He nudged me as I laughed. I could hear John and Teyla talking about exploring the city as I picked up a small piece of my egg and threw it at him. Ford dodged it as we settled down and I continued eating my breakfast.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Ford staring at me, I turned to look at him as he quickly adverted his gaze, but if I had to guess, it was like he had been staring at my neck, at the exact spot where I had the…hickey. There was no way in the galaxy that he could know about it; I probably had some egg on me or something.

"All right, let's go gear up." John announced after half an hour. "Rodney's going to be up in the control tower ticking off all the rooms we're going to be exploring today." He said as we dumped our trays and headed over to the armory. The three of us geared up and we headed over to the unexplored regions of the city. John told us that he was just going off to see Elizabeth and give her, her birthday present and said that he'd meet us there. Teyla, Ford and I all walked in silence together as we took a transporter and walked down about five flights of stairs.

* * *

"Alright, we're done with the living quarters. Moving on." John announced. I finally sighed in relief, we'd been down here for about five hours now, and it stunk. There was a bit structural damage from when we first arrived and the storm so some places had puddles of water which had been stagnant for a long time.

" _Woah-woah-woah-woah. Before you go, you see anything better than our current quarters?"_ Rodney asked over the radio.

"A few," John replied, "Some of then are pretty nice actually."

" _Well, what kind of square footage are we talking about?"_

"What am I, your relator, Rodney?" John said in annoyance as Ford and I sniggered from a few feet before him. "We're here to unlock the secrets of Atlantis." John said to him.

" _Yeah, well, I'm looking for a one-bedroom with a den, preferably with a balcony, but I'm not married to it."_ Rodney was rambling on as Ford and I approached a room, the door slid open when I got near it as Ford and I looked at each other and peered into the room. I saw a few consoles as I stepped in.

"Sir, check this out!" Ford called out as I was already in the room. Could have been a bad choice seeing as the room could've been booby-trapped or something. The lights turned on at my arrival as John and Teyla hurried in.

" _What is it?"_ Rodney asked over the radio.

"Some sort of laboratory," Teyla replied to him as John walked over to one of the consoles.

" _We've come across dozens of those. The city's full of them. Something unusual about it?"_ Rodney asked. John waved his hand over the console in the middle of the room as it lit up and a few more lights lit up around the room. Then at the very back we all watched as the lights lit up a capsule with an old woman in it!

"I'd have to say…yes." John said.

"Oh, my god." I muttered, turning to look at Teyla, she looked equally as shocked as me. I heard John tell Rodney to get Elizabeth and Carson and come meet us down here as soon as possible.

"Lieutenant, you're a mechanical engineer…you've any idea what this is?" John asked me as I walked around the console and over to the capsule. I studied the woman; she looked extremely old, dead even. Her hair was long and white and her face was covered in wrinkles. I looked around the capsule, hoping that I might see some basic Ancient text that I would understand but I didn't. I touched my hand to the glass and pulled it back, it was freezing. I then understood what it was.

"It's a stasis chamber." I revealed, turning to look at them. John looked confused. "I can't tell you how it works as this is so far beyond my knowledge. But I've read about them, it's like living forever, you put someone in here and freeze them and they age really slowly and are pretty much preserved for a long, long time."

"Cool," Ford commented as I sent a glare his way.

About fifteen minutes later Rodney, Elizabeth and Carson come barreling into the room. They all stared gob smacked at the woman in the stasis chamber. It was Rodney who finally spoke.

"Well, we could stand here looking at her all day. What we've got to do is get her out of this box." Rodney said.

"Rodney," Carson said, "We can't take that chance. Look at her—she's at least a hundred years old."

"Which is why every second counts! I mean, she could drop dead while we stand here arguing." Rodney said, waving his hands around.

"How could she drop dead?" John said, he turned to look at me, "I thought you said she was frozen." I shrugged my shoulders; I was a mechanical engineer, not a doctor or whatever the hell Rodney was.

"Technically she's in a state of metabolic stasis. Ageing slowed considerably, yes, but not entirely suspended." Rodney explained.

"You are saying this woman is still alive?" Teyla asked in disbelief.

"Yes," both Carson and Rodney said at the same time.

* * *

We all stood around the table in the lab, the woman had been taken out of the stasis chamber and Carson was checking out all of her vital signs. "Breathing shallow, pulse rapid. I'll run an E.E.G to determine any brain activity." Carson said. I watched him as he reached down to her hand and pulled out a piece of paper that had been scrunched up.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked across from me, Carson handed her the paper as she unfurls it. I watch Rodney as he looks over her shoulder to see what was on the paper.

"It's gate addresses," Rodney says in astonishment, "five of them. M7G-677, we've been to this planet." I wanted to ask Rodney what plane it was that we had visited but Teyla spoke.

"Dr Weir?" We all looked to Teyla as she nodded to look at the woman, our heads turned and we saw that the woman was opening up her eyes. Elizabeth leans down to her.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" She asks her. The old woman doesn't respond to her, she just continued to stare blankly ahead.

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of," Rodney said as he waved a hand close to the woman's face, I glare at him but he wasn't looking at me. "Freezer burn."

"I thought she wasn't frozen?" Ford asked Rodney from next to me.

"Ten thousand years—d'you expect her to do a bloody jig?" Carson said gruffly, making me silently chuckle.

"It's the eyes, Carson, you look at the eyes. The lights are on but nobody's home." Rodney jumped in fright when the woman's head turned to look at him.

"Of course she can see us," said Elizabeth, smiling. The woman turned her head to look up at Elizabeth, "And hear us. Hello, how are you feeling?" She asked her. There was a silence before I heard something mumble from the woman but I couldn't hear clearly.

"What was that?" Rodney asked Elizabeth.

"She said 'It worked.'"

"What's that mean?" Asked Rodney.

"I assume something worked," John said from the other side of me.

"Yes, that's very sharp." Rodney said sarcastically.

"Thank you," John said with a grin. The woman then begins to move her head once more as she looks at the rest of us but then it seems as if she has fallen asleep.

"Hello?" Elizabeth leaned down to her, after a few seconds she realized as she looked up at us all, "She fell asleep," she turned to Carson, "Once you've got her more stable, transfer her to the infirmary. And I want video on her at all times recording everything. We might not get a second chance at anything she may say." Carson nodded.

"Let's hope we get a first, huh?" Rodney said woefully.

We all dispersed after that, Carson said that he would radio us when she had woken up again so we all headed off to do our own things. Teyla, Ford and I were walking back towards the mess hall for lunch. Rodney, Elizabeth and John had taken off towards the control room.

"How strange that she would remain behind, not knowing if her people would ever return," Teyla said.

"What I want to know is what worked?" I pondered.

"Maybe the stasis?" Ford said, "maybe she didn't know if it was going to work or not?"

"Possibly." Teyla said.

* * *

Ford and I were walking back from the mess hall; I was heading back to my room to write up my report on the day. Ford was silent next to me; he had been acting strange the entire day but I didn't want to ask him what was wrong. He had been looking at me weirdly during lunch as well like he had done at breakfast. Just before I reached my room Ford grabbed my arm. "Are you seeing anyone?" He asked. I looked at him, bewildered. He was still holding onto my arm as I laughed it off.

"No, why'd you say that?" On the inside I was freaking out, what if he had seen John and I together? Had we messed up only days into our relationship?

"I ran into Nathan Fields yesterday, he said something…" I felt my blood run cold. Nathan had seen the bruise on my neck, I had hoped that he wouldn't have said anything to anyone but I guess not. I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked.

"No, Ford. Honestly when would any of us have any time to date? We're constantly out and I'm always dying, dating is not on my mind right now." I spun around and almost reached my door when I felt a tug on my jacket collar as it was pulled down. I gasped and turned around, glaring at Ford. His eyes were staring at the bruise I had on my neck.

"Why lie?" he said angrily, he looked furious.

"It's none of your business, Ford." I retorted, pulling my collar back up. "Just drop it." I said

"It is my business! You're my friend, I want to make sure you're ok," Ford said.

"Butt out of it, Ford, you aren't my dad and I don't need you to look out for me with this, I know what I'm doing." I said with a glare. Ford's face-hardened as he rolled his eyes angrily and then stomped away.

 _Do I know what I was doing?_

* * *

"Were you followed?" I said to John as I gripped his shirt and yanked him into my room later that evening, the doors slid shut behind him. I paced in front of him as I saw his confused look.

"Not that I know of, what's wrong?" He asked me. I paced for a few more seconds, picking at my fingernails as I turned my head to look at him.

"Ford knows." I said. I saw John reel back in shock. "He doesn't _know,_ know. But Nathan Fields saw the hickey and he told Ford and Ford confronted me about it, now he thinks I'm a hussy." I said, groaning as I fell back onto my bed. I heard his heavy footfalls come closer as he stood over me. I met his gaze as he smirked down at me, I knew my expression was sour as he leant down and grabbed my hands, he tried pulling me up but I was being dead weight. With another tug he pulled me up as I fell onto his chest as his arms circled my waist. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck as I lay my head on his chest. "I hate hiding things from him." I mumbled softly a few minutes lately.

"It's better if he doesn't know," John said in my ear. I nodded, agreeing with him as I finally pulled away from him. "Have you eaten yet?" John asked me as I walked over to my dresser.

"No, I'm not really hungry," I said dejectedly as I heard him come up behind me. I felt his arms come around my waist; I leaned back against his chest as his head came down to rest on my shoulder.

"Let's go get something to eat." He said to me as I froze.

"No, we can't, not together." I said, panicking. I turned in his arms as he chuckled.

"Mia, it's not unusual for two team members to eat dinner together."

"Yes, but we're not just team members, are we?" I said with a brow raised in concern. John sighed.

"The only people who know that we are more than teammates are standing in this room. If we act like teammates in the public eye then everyone will be none the wiser." I sighed, thinking it over for a few seconds. And then finally I nodded.

"Ok. But let me change first, I managed to snag this from the uniform room." I said as I pulled out a turtleneck long sleeved shirt from my dresser. John stepped back a few paces as I turned around, I grabbed the bottom of my shirt as I slowly started easing it up and over my head. I looked over my shoulder as I felt the cool breeze hit my skin, John was staring at me as I met his gaze and winked at him. He cleared his throat as I quickly pulled the turtleneck over my head and fixed it up so that it covered my neck. I gave him a sultry look as I passed him as I heard him sigh heavily and mumble something under his breath.

We ate dinner together, and strangely enough, no one even gave us a second glance. We chatted like two friends having dinner together, some people even stopped to say hello to us both. I guess John was right, it wasn't strange for two teammates to be seen having dinner together. After we finished dinner and we took our trays to the bin John leaned closer to me.

"Come to my room later," he said as I barely nodded.

"Goodnight, Major Sheppard." I said, loud enough for some people around us to here.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening, Lieutenant." He replied as we both went separate ways down the corridor.

* * *

When it was later that night I was deciding on how to dress to get to his room, obviously I couldn't go strolling around in my nightclothes, and holding them would be too suspicious as well. So instead I changed into my shorts and pulled my combat trousers back on and over them, I did the same with my black tank top and pulled my shirt back on. That way I had my uniform as well. I let my hair down from the bun it had been in all day as I shook it out, the wavy locks hung around my face as I tucked them behind my ears as I brushed my teeth in the bathroom.

I left my room a few minutes later and walked towards John's room, halfway there I stopped and turned around, I had the feeling of eyes on me as I quickly scanned the area. I waited for at least a minute, I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and I felt sick. After a while, after nothing jumped out at me and I calmed down slightly I walked again. But this time I didn't take a direct route to John's room, for some reason, I felt like someone was following me, I didn't want to admit that Ford would follow me to find out who I was seeing, but I also wouldn't put it passed him. I headed over to one of the transporters as I blocked the panel from view as I pressed a button that would take me about five levels down from here. When I came out I felt more at ease as I headed over to the stairs and began to walk up them. It took me about fifteen minutes to get to his room, if I hadn't of taken the scenic route I would've been there within minutes. I looked around before I finally waved my hand over the door sensor, within seconds it opened and I was pulled into his room as he planted a passionate kiss on my lips. His arms wound around my waist tightly as he dipped me back slightly. My hands moved up to his neck as my fingers splayed out as he kissed passionately for god knows how long. Every time John Sheppard kissed me I always lost track of time and my mind always shut down. I pulled away from him for air as he reluctantly let go of me as I noticed he was already dressed in his nightclothes. He wore some panda shirt and a pair of track pants as he saw my attire and gave me a wolfish grin.

"I hope you're going commando." He remarked as I rolled my eyes. I gripped my shirt as I pulled it up and over my head, revealing my tank top. I saw him pout slightly as I untied my shoes as slipped them off. I unbuckled my belt and slipped my trousers down my legs, revealing my booty shorts.

"I always come prepared," I said smartly. I shuffled up to him, swinging my hips as I watched his eyes wander, he bit his lower lip and I saw his fingers twitch, I had figured out that whenever his fingers twitched he was holding himself back from touching me. "I've been thinking." I said, I reached up and trailed a finger from his neck down his chest.

"That can't be good," he mumbled, I saw him take a deep breath as my finger came to rest at the top of his track pants. I glanced down, and noticed the growing bulge in his pants. I looked back up, tipping my head back as I pressed my lips to the hollow of his neck.

"I don't want to take it slow," I whispered against his neck. I used both my hands as I gripped the edge of his shirt as I pulled it up and over his head. I dropped it to the floor with a small thud as I ran my hands up his chest. "I want you John Sheppard." I said, meeting his gaze, "all of you."

"Thank God." He growled as he launched himself at me. His kisses changed drastically, before they were always filled with passion, now they were hungry and desperate. I didn't realize that he had removed my shirt, only when he pulled away to rip it from my body and throw it to the floor. I was standing in my red bra that I knew was incredibly sexy on my body.

I had always been a little self conscious of my body, sure it was toned and I had muscle, but I was made like a stick, I didn't have curves and my breasts weren't big, most people would kill to have a body like mine, but I wanted curves, and I wanted everything that I didn't have. But seeing John Sheppard look at me like he did, I didn't care. The look in his eyes told me that he thought I was sexy, and that was all I needed. He dipped back down to me, catching me in another hungry kiss; this one was like the other, needy and hungry. I could feel my lips bruising from his force but I didn't care. I felt his hands trail down both my thighs and suddenly he was picking me up. I locked my legs around his torso as he began walking us towards the bed, he dropped me down on the bed as I bounced and giggled. He crawled onto the bed as I lay back down and spread out my body under him. He leant down and kissed me on the mouth again as his hand went from my neck to my chest, his hand trailed down to my breast as he began squeezing and massaging it over my bra. I felt a spike of pleasure go through me at his touch. Then I felt both of his hands go around to my back as they fumbled with my bra clasp and then it was removed from me and thrown away like my top. I felt my nipples harden from the sudden cold breeze as his hand went back to its magic, this time it was ten times better. He continued to kiss me as his hand worked on my breast as I began to moan, with each touch I could feel myself building up. His thumb flicked over the other nipple as I gasped into his mouth, feeling myself building up even more. His mouth moved from mine as he began to kiss his way down my neck and chest, he came to my breast as he clamped his mouth over my nipple. I moaned loudly as my eyes shut in bliss and my hands went to grab onto his hair as I fisted my hands into his dark locks. He was licking, sucking and biting at the nipple and his other hand was massaging the other one. I could feel the knot growing tighter and tighter with every second, I began to fidget and writhe beneath him, my core needed release, needed something there but there wasn't. I knew I needed him.

"God, John." I whispered as he released my breast as he began kissing down my stomach. His hands followed, leaning a hot trail as they skimmed lightly over my skin, he kissed just above my shorts as his hands dipped under the band. I was waiting for him to pull my shorts down, when he didn't I opened my eyes and looked down at him. His hazel eyes were dark with lust and desire and I almost climaxed just looking at him.

"Are you sure?" he asked me, I thought it was incredibly sweet that he was making sure, but that just made me want him more.

"Oh, God, John yes." I moaned as he smirked and pulled down my shorts. Unfortunately I had _not_ worn the matching underwear and was left in a pair of blue polka dotted silkies. He dipped his fingers under those too as suddenly they were gone from my body. I was left completely naked in his bed and under his hungry gaze. He kissed back up my stomach and reached my mouth.

"You're so goddamn beautiful." He muttered as he kissed me on the mouth again. I felt my heart soar at those words as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed myself against him. I felt his bare skin against mine as my hardened nipples touched his hard chest. I could feel his erection against my leg as his hand caressed my face and trailed down my body once more. He reached my thighs as he started trailing his fingers across them. The sensitive flesh there twitched as I felt my core get wetter then before. He used his hand and opened up my thighs to him as his finger trailed closer and closer to my core. My kiss hardened on his mouth as I waited anxiously for that first touch, my body needed it badly.

I let out a moan when I felt his finger sink into me; I had to break away from his mouth for air and I couldn't concentrate. I tipped my head back as I felt him begin to move his finger in and out. I could feel my climax coming on; I wouldn't be able to last much longer. And he was only using his finger, how on earth was I going to take his cock? I moaned loudly when his finger touched my wall as I began to rock in time with his hand. I felt myself collapsing when I felt another finger enter me, I was moaning and thrashing my head from side to side.

"Oh my god!" I cried as I felt my walls tighten as everything exploded. I felt like I was floating as I slowly came back down to the ground. I was panting and I could feel and see sweat lining my body. John kissed my jaw as he removed his fingers from me and I felt unusually empty.

"You're going to wake the neighbors with screams like that," he said into my ear. I shivered and smirked.

"I don't give a damn about your neighbors." I said seriously. I decided that it was time for the real fun; I sat myself up, and moved John so that he was below me. I threw my leg over his waist so that I was straddling him. I could feel his erection at my core as I began to rock on him, I could feel myself getting turned on and wet again immediately as John's hand came to rest on my hips. He gripped them so tight I knew they were going to bruise, his hands moved up until they both cupped my breasts and he squeezed them tightly, causing me to moan once more. I leant down and kissed him on the mouth as I began moving myself down, much like he had done to me. I kissed down his chest and on his stomach, I could feel his muscles clench under me as I smirked. It turned me on knowing that I turned him on. I reached his pants as I hooked my fingers in them and shimmied them off his strong legs; I took his boxers with them as I finally got to see all of John Sheppard. His cock shot out as I took him in, he was thick and long as I got rid of his pants and moved up him slowly. His hungry eyes were watching my every move as I stopped just before his cock. Using one hand I reached out and wrapped my fingers around the hilt. He sucked in a huge breath as he titled his head back onto the pillow. I grinned at his reaction as I began to move my hand slowly up and down his cock. He was panting and groaning, his hands fisting the sheets as I saw him lose control. I wanted to take him further as I leaned down and extending my tongue I licked from the base all the way to the tip.

"Jesus, Mia." He groaned, his knuckles turning white from gripping the sheets so hard. I did it once more as he moaned loudly.

"Shush, John, or you'll wake the neighbor's." I said cheekily to him as he gave me a playful glare. I released him as I crawled up the bed as I reached him; I leaned down as I pressed a kiss to his lips. I leaned back so that I was sitting on his waist once more. I kneeled up on my knees as I grabbed his shaft and positioned it so that it was at my center. I stared into his hazel gaze as I slowly slid down onto him. I felt my walls stretch from his girth as I groaned and tipped my head back. I felt extremely full from him as I felt his hand come up and start kneading my breasts once more. Using my legs I began to push myself up and then back down on him, I could feel him inside me, and it felt glorious. We got into a steady rhythm as I could feel myself building up once more. I dug my fingers into his chest as he began to go faster and harder, our bodies meeting every second. Suddenly he stopped as he leant up and wrapped an arm around me as he flipped us over so that I was under him again. I hooked my legs around his waist once more as he plunged deeper into me.

"Oh God, John." I said, breathlessly as he started up again. His hands intertwined with mine as he pressed them into the mattress, holding my hands there as he began pounding into me. I could feel my climax building up and up; I was so close again, and I could tell that he was too, his breathing was ragged and he was moaning and groaning as well. I could feel my mind coming to a stand still as John continued his hard thrusts. I could hear the bed banging against the wall and I did hope that he didn't have anyone in the room next to him.

"John," I panted, I could feel my walls tightening around him. I knew he could too. "Oh my God, John…I'm—I'm—" I stopped speaking when my climax hit me like a train. I cried out as John pressed his lips over mine as he pounded into me a few more times before I felt his load sink into me. He bucked a few times, groaning loudly into my mouth as he emptied himself into me. When he was done he released my hands that he had a vice like grip on, he pulled back and gazed into my eyes as he leant down and kissed me softly on the mouth. He removed himself from my body as he rolled over onto his back and let out a long sigh. He chucked his arm around my shoulder as he pulled me into his side as I curled up next to him, our sweaty bodies sticking to each other and our naked legs intertwining.

"That was…" he said, breathlessly.

"Amazing." I finished for him. He tilted his head down to look at me and give me a wolfish grin; he pressed another kiss to my lips.

"You're amazing," he said to me. I could feel my eyelids drooping, I was completely exhausted. I could see that John was too. I snuggled into his embrace once more as I fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 **Alert the sexy police! Yay they finally did the nasty, hope you all enjoyed that scene I sure did. Again as always thank you to everyone who is following and alerting and reviewing to this story, I'm so happy to know that people are still enjoying it as much as I am writing it!**

 **Adela -** Will things be ok with them? Somethings do kick off with them but I won't say when but be prepared!

 **parmakai66 -** At least I warned you last time, and this time so hopefully you didn't get caught again! Yes I am not a mushy person but I love reading about it which is really strange? god when I wrote that scene with John and Chaya I honestly had no idea how to do it. But i did know that she had to find out someway and for her to admit her feelings I know that she would've had to have been hurt to realise. It was a toss up between her walking away and confronting but then i was like, that's not Mia, she would barge in there guns blazing. And then not listen to what he had to say, god that was funny, but I'm glad someone got the whole idea and point of why she did it! Thank you so much, that's such a nice thing to say!

 **Guest 64 -** Thank you! Yes they are both extremely fun to write when they're being cute and silly.

 **Guest -** Thank you!

 **Again thank you everyone! I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all next week as we jump into Brotherhood! Who do we see in Brotherhood again? :D**


	19. Genesis - Chapter 19

**Hey guys! I'm so happy that you all enjoyed the last chapter! W're back for another week with another one of my favourite episodes! As always thank you to everyone who alerted, favourited, and reviewed it means so much to me! :) Enjoy!**

 **Rating for this chapter goes up to M.**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

When I awoke the next morning I stretched out my body under the blanket as I felt John's arms tighten around me. I looked over at him as I saw his hazel eyes staring back down at me. Memories of our night together came flooding back to me as I grinned. He seemed to remember also as he smirked and leant down to press a kiss to my lips. Our bodies were still naked and our limbs were tangled up together as I managed to roll over and onto his chest. I lay my head down on his chest as I moved my hands up him and to his face as I played with the ends of his hair. His hands came to rest on my lower back as he made small circles with his fingers. "Good morning," he said huskily.

"Morning," I replied. My gaze wondered to the clock on his bedside table and saw that it was only six in the morning. "We should really get up, people are bound to come and find us." I said grumpily as John's arms wrapped around my waist. He flipped us over so that I was underneath him as he began to plant kisses along my jaw and neck. I sighed in contempt as I could feel myself getting turned on from his kisses. John moved his lips up my neck until he reached my mouth and kissed me hard. He pulled back and mumbled into my mouth.

"I'm fine, right here." He said.

" _Major Sheppard, please have your team report to the conference room."_ Grodin's voice came over the comms as we both sighed.

"Duty calls," I said with a smirk. John leaned down and pressed one more kiss to my mouth as he climbed out of the bed. I watched him head over to his draws as he pulled out a fresh uniform. I rolled over onto my stomach and leant my head on my hand as I watched him pull his boxers over his cute butt. He sensed me staring at him as he glanced up.

"Can you get dressed please?" He grumbled as I laughed and sat up. I saw his eyes wonder all over my body as I went to my clothes that had been thrown about on the floor. I bent down, making sure that I was facing away from him as I slid my underwear on and pulled my bra back on. I grabbed my combat trousers as I began buckling them up. I felt John come up behind me as his hands trailed down my arms as I felt his mouth plant kisses along my shoulder. "You're a little minx, you know that?" He whispered into my ear. I smirked as I reached down and took my long sleeved turtleneck in my hands. I pulled it over my head as I spun around and faced him. He was completely dressed as I hooked my fingers in his belt loops as I tugged him to me. He bent his head as I tipped mine back and we met in a passionate kiss. I pulled away after a minute.

"See you in the conference room." I said to him.

* * *

I arrived at the conference room, only Elizabeth, Rodney and Ford were in here. I took my seat next to Rodney who was now in between Ford and as I didn't give my friend a second glance. I was still annoyed at him for butting into my business and I still had a sneaking suspicion that he had been following me last night. A minute after I arrived Teyla entered and greeted us all as she sat down next to Elizabeth, and a few seconds later John entered with a goofy smile. He took his seat next to Teyla as I tried my best to not look his way.

"So she woke up last night." Elizabeth began as all our attention shifted to her. "And it's kind of...weird."

"Weird how?" John asked.

"She claims that she's…me…" Elizabeth said. I felt my jaw drop as we all looked at her confused. "She knew all of our names, she knows things about me. And that's not all…she claims that she was sent back in time."

"Time travel?" Ford asked, shocked.

"That's what she said. She somehow found a way to travel back in time to when the Ancients inhabited the city." Elizabeth said.

"How did she do this?" Teyla asked from beside her.

"That will be one of the first questions I ask her when she wakes up again."

"If she ever wakes up again," John grumbled.

"Well, let's not be too quick to exclude the possibility that the woman might be, umm, what is the clinical term…nuts?" Rodney said from beside me as I heard Ford snigger.

"She may be senile, yes, but that doesn't explain that she knows so much about us." Said Elizabeth.

"Is time travel even possible?" Ford asked Rodney.

"Well, according to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, there's nothing in the laws of physics to prevent it. Extremely difficult to achieve, mind you—you need the technology to manipulate black holes to create wormholes not only through points in space but time." Rodney explained.

"Not to mention a really nice DeLorean." John said seriously from the other side of the room. I grinned and chuckled.

"Don't even get me started on that movie," Rodney snapped at him.

"I liked that movie!" John defended.

Carson entered the conference room quickly with his medical table; he looked a little frazzled as he faced Elizabeth. "The results of the DNA test. It's a match." Carson said, handing Elizabeth the tablet, "She is you."

The rest of the day had us all being told about this older Elizabeth, she said that when we arrived at Atlantis the 'first' time, nothing worked and the city was in trouble. We didn't stand a chance, the shield failed and the cities failsafe's didn't work so when the shield collapsed, Atlantis didn't rise to the surface, it stayed on the bottom of the ocean, while pretty much everyone died. Old Elizabeth told Ford, Carson and I that we all drowned trying to get people to the jumper bay. My dad had drowned also. Rodney drowned trying to keep the doors open for everyone. Thought Elizabeth, John and Zelenka managed to get into a jumper which turned out to be a time machine that transported them back ten thousand years. But they were shot down by the Wraith and Elizabeth was the only one who survived. It was strange, thinking that I had died in an alternate timeline, we hadn't met Teyla or gone to her planet, John and I had never even had a chance to get to know each other. It soured the mood, but then the old Elizabeth had gone into some sort of seizure and she was carted off to the infirmary.

Later that night, I was returning to my room from the mess hall from having dinner with Teyla. John, Rodney and Elizabeth were all in the infirmary hearing the remainder of her story before she passed away. Teyla had told me that Carson had told her that the old Elizabeth probably wouldn't live out the night. My hands were stuffed in my pockets as I slowly walked down a few corridors, as I neared my room someone fell into step with me. I glanced up; surprised to see that it was Ford.

"Hey," I said to him. We both stopped walking as he turned to face me.

"Hey." He replied. He shuffled his feet and scratched the back of his head, "I wanted to apologize, you're right, whoever you see is not my business, I guess we've always been so close that we always tell each other things so I got kind of mad that you wouldn't tell me." I reached out and took his hand in mine.

"Aiden," I used his name. "You are my brother, you are the only family I have left. I would go to the end of the galaxy for you, but something's just need to stay secret." I said with a smile. He nodded.

"I know," he reached out and pulled me into a tight hug, "I just don't want you to get hurt, after Liam died…I just don't want to ever see you that hurt again." Ford mumbled into my hair. I held him tighter.

"Trust me Ford, I'll be ok. He treats me well." I admitted.

"He better, if he hurts you'll I'll kick his ass." Ford said. I chuckled.

"You probably could." I joked as I pulled away from him. "Night Ford."

* * *

I went to bed soon after that; I was snuggled under my covers and almost dozing off when I heard my bedroom doors slide open. I opened my eyes as I rubbed them from the light that seeped into the room from the corridor. I blinked a few times as my fuzzy vision cleared as I felt someone sink the mattress next to me. A hand reached out and started soothing back my hair as I rolled onto my back. John was sitting there with a solemn look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"She's gone, the other Elizabeth, she died." He said sadly. I felt myself grow sad at the knowledge. Even though she wasn't the Elizabeth that we all knew now, she was still her in a way. And hearing that she was gone, it made me sad.

"I'm sorry," I said, reaching out for his hand. I took it in mine as I kissed his knuckles gently. John then begun to get undressed as I scooted over to the side of the bed and waited for him to join me. When he was under the blankets he wrapped me up in his embrace as we both fell asleep.

I woke the next morning really early, John's arms were gridlocked around my waist as I tried to shift out of his arms quickly and without waking him. I managed to slip out of his arms as he grumbled and rolled over in his sleep. I glanced at my clock and saw that it was five thirty in the morning. I changed into my running gear and threw my hair up into a ponytail as I hastily scribbled a note telling him that I had gone for a run. I headed to my door but decided that I would use my IPod this time; I only had a number of uses with it before the battery died and I couldn't charge it here. I put the headphones in my ears and turned it on as I left my room, casting a look over my shoulder to see John still sleeping when I left.

I pushed myself harder this morning while running, I hadn't gone in a few days because John had been taking up most of my time so I didn't want to start lacking in my stamina again. I ran all the way to the South Pier, shaving off a few minutes off my personal best as I grinned to myself from the accomplishment. I gave myself a little time to breath and sit on the bench on the Pier, and then I began my long run back.

When I got back to my room I opened the door and was slightly surprised to see that John was gone. I saw my note that I had left on the bed still as I walked over to it. Underneath my untidy scrawl was an even messier note. _Mission briefing at 0800. Don't be late_.I glanced at my clock and saw that it was almost six thirty. I showered and changed into my uniform as I headed down to the mess hall for breakfast. I didn't spot anyone from my team to sit with while I ate so I sat at the small table at the back of the room. I people watched until it was ten to eight when I headed to the armory to get geared up, when that was done I checked my watch and saw that it was one minute to eight. I grinned to myself as I headed up to the conference room. I could hear voices from inside as I arrived and a few heads looked to me. I spotted an empty seat next to Teyla as I walked over to it. "Sorry I'm late." I said as I looked over at John, he met my gaze as he rolled his eyes. I sat next to Teyla as Rodney and Elizabeth entered.

"Right so," Rodney said, "We've been going over Weir's list and we've tried all of the co-ordinates, with the exception of the kids planet. The only planet we could access with our gate is this one." Rodney pointed to the screen where we saw the telemetry from the MALP. "MX5-398, it's a small planet, we picked up life signs but no major power readings."

"If there's no power readings then what makes you think that it's there?" I asked him.

"We don't." He said as I raised a brow, "We have no idea if it's there, but it's the only planet we made contact with, it's worth a try." He looked between John and Elizabeth. Elizabeth nodded.

"I think it's a good enough reason," she said looking over at John. He was thinking for a few seconds before he spoke.

"Alright, let's go." He said as Rodney grinned and ran out of the room.

* * *

We emerged onto the planet as I looked around; it looked simple enough, a dirt road and some large trees all around us. "Did the MALP say where the village was?" John asked Rodney as he pulled out his gadgets and started testing the area.

"Somewhere near I think." He said, looking around. I heard John sigh as we began walking along the road. I fell back with Teyla while John and Ford walked ahead of us. Rodney was lagging behind a bit, still working on his gadgets.

We walked for around fifteen minutes before we finally saw some sort of village. There were people around doing daily village duties as we walked into the center and they spotted us.

"Hi, we're friendly." John said, waving his hand. A few villagers walked up to us.

"Where do you come from?" A man said.

"Atlantis, the city of the Ancestors." Teyla said calmly. I saw a few of the villagers gasp in shock as they began to talk hurriedly amongst themselves.

"Get Allina." I heard another one say. A young woman ran off through the crowd as the man who asked us where we came from stepped forwards.

"Our people have waited for this day for many generations, it is an honor." He said to us, I glanced over my shoulder at Teyla as she too gave me a confused look. A few minutes later two woman came back; one was older with dark hair and in simple clothing.

"Greetings, I am Allina. We welcome you to Dagan." She said, shaking John's hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Major Sheppard, this is Lieutenant Ford, Teyla, Lieutenant Sumner and Dr McKay." He pointed to each of us as we all waved in greeting.

"Sanir said you come from the city of the Ancients." Allina said with a smile. Rodney stepped forwards.

"Yes, we do. We've coming looking for an artifact of—of great power should I say." Rodney said. Allina looked stunned for a few seconds.

"This is good news. Please, follow me, I will take you to the library." Allina said as she motioned for us to follow her.

Rodney spoke more to Allina and then relayed back to us, apparently these Dagan people had been waiting for the Ancients to return to them as thousands of years ago the Ancients entrusted them with a powerful artifact called the Potentia. From what Rodney could make out from the description that Allina gave him, the Potentia was the ZPM. We were sitting in a castles library, which used to be The Brotherhood's home. The Brotherhood were fifteen priests who were entrusted with keeping the ZPM safe. Though, thousands of years ago they were wiped out from the Wraith.

I was thumbing through some old and dusty book that had pages falling out of it and in a language that I couldn't read.

"How does Rodney expect us to find anything in books that we can't even read?" I hissed to Teyla, Ford and John. Teyla and Ford were on one side of the table and John and I were on the other. John had a few scrolls spread out around him. We'd been at this for almost the whole day and had made no headway.

"I think he just did it so that he could get some alone time with Allina," Ford said, sniggering.

"I'd rather read this book the rest of my life then have Rodney try and flirt with me." I said as the three of them laughed. I heard footsteps and looked over to see Rodney glaring at the four of us.

"What is going on here?" He grumbled.

"Just having a little fun, McKay." John said, pretending to be interested in his scroll.

"Can we get back to work now?" Rodney snapped at us.

"I just don't see how running through history books is going to find us our ZPM." Ford said, flicking the book he was reading. Rodney held up a piece of paper.

"Really? See this? This is a charcoal rubbing taken from an Ancient temple built about the time Weir's list was written. Notice anything familiar? Hmm?" Rodney tapped the paper as I stared at it. It seemed to be a priest of some sort and he was holding something that looked like a ZPM. "Look, we are close, closer than we have ever been before. Now, there may very well be hundred of zero-point modules hidden in this galaxy, but the only one we are remotely sure of is here." His tone changed, "Now, if you ever want to go home, if you ever want to protect Atlantis from the Wraith, we need to find this." He tapped the paper again as he walked away.

* * *

We came back to Atlantis when the sun set, we needed to brief Elizabeth about what we had found out and if she wanted us to return, it was a long shot to try and find the ZPM anyway, it had been lost for ten thousand years, what were the chances of us being able to find them, I had actually asked Rodney that question and his reply was, of course, "They didn't have me." If that's not stuck up then I don't know what is. The briefing would happen in the morning as when we had come back Elizabeth had already headed off for the night. We all went our separate ways but I knew that I would be seeing John later. I went for my run and detoured to the mess hall on the way back, I spotted Teyla and Ford having dinner together as I joined them. We talked about Dagan and the ZPM and their thoughts on if we could actually find it, it would be a big help if we could. As Ford had mentioned, the Wraith would probably show up soon to try and obliterate us all. A little help from the ZPM might mean we could survive this.

I said goodnight to the two as I headed back to my room, my neck was sore for some reason and I couldn't wait to get under my shower and wash all the sweat off me. I rubbed my neck, hoping to relieve some of the pain as I waved my hand over the sensor as I started peeling my clothes off my body and dropping them on the floor. I pressed the button for the shower as it came to life, I tugged my hair out of the braid it had been in as I walked around the frosted glass of the shower and stepped in. The three showerheads soaked my body as I felt all my muscles relax from the warm water. I was rinsing my hair out and was now scrubbing my body with the loofa; I was rubbing my shoulders when I felt a pair of hands take it from me.

"Let me." I heard John whisper into my ear as he kissed just below my earlobe. He went slowly, rubbing across my shoulders and down my back. It was extremely sensual and I could feel myself getting turned on from it. He trailed it down my arm, the soap leaving a trail and was washed off from the water. When he was done I spun around and took the loofa from him.

"My turn," I said cheekily. He wasn't in the range for the water, but getting splashed by droplets that were running down his muscled skin. A few droplets came from his hair and I wanted to run my fingers through his locks. I squirted out the soap as I began to scrub over his chest, his eyes slid closed as I moved it along his shoulders and down is arms, I went down his stomach as I saw him tense up. I snuck a glance down to see his erection coming to life, I made me feel giddy as I then spun him around and washed his back for him. I tugged him back under the water so that I was pressed up against the cool wall as the soap ran off his body. I watched it run down, over his nice ass as I bit my bottom lip. Not a minute would go by when I didn't think about our night together; it always made me turned on from thinking about it. And right now, I wanted him badly. John turned, but my eyes stayed where they were, he was fully erect now and I could feel my heartbeat in my ears from anticipation.

"See anything you like?" He said slyly as I nodded.

"A few things," I replied, meeting his gaze and grinning.

 **Mature***

John's hand went to the back of my neck as he tipped my head back and pulled me to him. Our lips met under the water as he kissed me hungrily. His other hand went to my ass as he pressed me against him, his erection pressed just below my belly button as I managed to weave my hand down his chest and between us. My fingers wrapped around him as I heard him suck in a deep breath through his nose as he pressed his lips harder against mine. His fingers dug into my ass as he moved me until my back hit the wall. I began to move my hand along him; he was already slick from the water as I pumped him. His breathing was hard and ragged against my mouth; he had to lean back for air as he met my gaze.

"Just one touch and I'm yours, how do you do this?" He said breathlessly as I grinned. I continued to move my hand up and down him, I was watching him lose control with each stroke, and I could see that he was almost at his end. His lips moved along my jaw, kissing and licking. He was grunting loudly with each stroke but before he could finish I pulled my hand away from him as he sighed.

"Such a tease." He mumbled into my neck, I chuckled as his hand came around from my ass as he grabbed my breast. I leaned my head back against the wall as he squeezed and fondled my breast. His thumb rubbed over the hardened nipple as I moaned in pleasure, he lowered his head to my other breast as he began to suck at my other nipple. My hands roamed over his body for something to do, one went through his wet hair and the other went to his back. I felt him bite my nipple as my fingers dug into his back as I moaned. I could feel the knot building up in my stomach, I couldn't wait any longer.

"John, please, I need you." I said, gasping. He gave my breast another bite at the skin as he moved up and to my mouth. His hand that had been fondling my breast moved to my thigh as he hooked it over his arm and positioned himself so that we were lined up. In one quick motion he sheathed himself inside me. I felt myself feel extremely full once more from him. My eyes closed as I tilted my head back to rest on the wall. John started to move slowly, going almost all the way out and then slowly back in. It was driving me insane.

"Faster," I gasped out as I heard John chuckle. His lips returned to my neck as he planted kisses there. He began to pick up the pace as I rocked my hips in time with him.

"Harder," I said to him. He seemed to let lose then, he began pounding into me, much to my own pleasure. I could feel my back hitting the wall every time he thrust into me. His other hand that had been gripping my hip tightly moved up as his large hand encased my breast as he gave a hard squeeze and didn't let go. The stimulation from that and from him inside almost drove me to the edge; I tried to hold on until he was ready also. I managed a few more minutes when I heard his breathing jitter and his speed suddenly increased. I moaned loudly as I felt my own release come, I was left in pure ecstasy as John thrust hard into me, riding out his own orgasm as he leant forwards and pressed his face into the crook of my neck. I could feel my one leg start to shake from leaning on it and from my orgasm for so long. I came down from my high, John was peppering kisses along my collarbone as he withdrew from me and slowly put my leg back down. My hip ached as I wrapped my arms around him, I was extremely exhausted. I almost collapsed to the floor but John managed to wrap his arms around me to keep me standing. I could feel my legs still slightly shaking as I heard the water switch off as John started moving me out of the shower.

"Too much for you?" He joked as I leant my head on his shoulder. I was almost asleep but I knew that I had to get dry and get some clothes on. He managed to wrap a towel around me while I still held onto him, then my legs were swept out from underneath me as he carried me towards my bed. He set me down as he walked over to my dresser and pulled out a large shirt of mine. I tried to start drying myself but John took the towel and did it for me.

"I'm not a baby," I grumbled to him, pouting. He grinned as he dried my arms. He didn't say anything as he made me lift my arms so that he could pull the shirt over my head. He then got the towel and ruffled up my hair as I laughed and swatted his hands away. He was still naked and I had to avert my eyes from him, otherwise we'd end up having sex again, and I don't think my body could handle that again.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything for me to sleep in, would you?" He asked me, I saw his uniform on the floor with mine as I motioned to my dresser.

"Third draw down, a pair of grey track pants." I said as he walked over to them. He pulled out the large pair as he slipped them on.

"Can I ask why you have a pair of male pants in here?" He said with a smirk as he started walking back to me.

"They were Liam's." I said with a sad smile. I saw John falter in his step for a second but he continued to me. He came and stood between my legs and knelt down on his knees. His reached out and used his hand to lift my chin so that our gazes met.

"I don't like to see you sad." He mumbled to me.

"I'm not," I said, trying to reassure him. He leant forwards and pressed a soft to kiss to my lips, it made my heart soar. He pulled away, and I felt a smile creep over my face.

"There's my girl." He said. I felt my insides go to mush at him saying 'my girl'. He brushed a piece of my hair and behind my ear. "You are the most gorgeous woman I've ever met." He said as his eyes moved over my face. I felt my cheeks flush.

"You've probably said that to all your girlfriends." I said with a chuckle.

"Possibly, but you trump them all." He said as he pecked me on the forehead. I yawned loudly next as he grinned, I scooted back towards the top of the bed as I folded myself under the covers; John joined me as I curled up on him, half on his chest. I splayed my hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat under my hand was a soothing rhythm that started to lull me to sleep.

* * *

"They called themselves 'The Quindosim', a brotherhood of fifteen monks whose sole occupation was to keep the Potentia, or ZPM safe." Allina said to us when we returned to Dagan the next day. We were all sitting at the same table as before, with Rodney and Allina standing at the head with scrolls and Allina had a small package in her hand.

"Fascinating." Rodney said, gazing at Allina. It was obvious to us that Rodney may be trying to flirt with her.

"Yes. Fascinating," John said, mocking Rodney slightly. Rodney turned his head to glare at John for a second before he looked back at Allina.

"Please, go on." He said. Allina began unwrapping her package as she handed me a small stone tablet and Ford another one, she handed the third one to Rodney.

"The Brotherhood of the fifteen consisted of a 'Master Handler,' five 'Protectors,' and nine 'Stone Carriers.' Their greatest fear was that the entire Brotherhood might one day be culled by the Wraith, which would result in the ZPM going missing forever." Allina said.

"Missing, yes, but it would not fall into enemy hands." Teyla said as Ford passed her the stone, I handed mine off to John.

"They were entrusted with the ZPM. Their hope was that one day the Lanteans would return to reclaim it and reward the Sudarian people for completing their task." Allina explained.

"So they left hints, clues, should the Brotherhood be destroyed." Rodney said, examining his own stone.

"That's right. The priests created nine stone markers that, when united, are supposed to reveal the final resting place of the Quindosim's protected treasure. So far, we've only found three. The etching on the rocks involved many lines and dots. We think it's a map." Allina said.

"Mm. Amazing." Rodney said, grinning at Allina.

"It is actually," John said from beside me. "This looks like an Ancient numbering system."

"That's what we thought. From what we can tell, they're numbers three, six and seven." Allina said as I leant closer to John to have a look at the stone. My head was right next to his shoulder and I could smell his cologne as it slowly drove me insane.

"Excellent work. I mean, seriously, I'm very impressed here." I heard Rodney say.

"That's very kind of you, doctor." Allina replied. John nudged my shoulder as I looked up at him, he nodded for me to look at Rodney as I turned my head and saw the two scientists smiling at each other. I grinned at the obvious display of flirting from Allina.

* * *

We split into three teams, Rodney had found out that the stones were buried in a grid and we had to find all of them before we could get the ZPM. I had been paired up with Teyla, John and Ford in another group and Rodney went with the two Dagan women. Teyla and I took our co-ordinates from Rodney; we had two stones to find. We both carried the digging gear for a long while before we reached our dig site. We set it all up and got to work digging. It was a few hours later when I finally spoke. "You know, when I signed up for this, I didn't think I'd had to dig through dirt trying to find some stupid stone." I said as I shoveled dirt over my shoulder. I heard Teyla laugh.

"And what did you expect to do?"

"I don't know, I was going to a different galaxy, I thought it'd be flying spaceships and meeting little green aliens. Not trying to find power sources so that we don't get killed by lifesucking creatures." I shoveled another heap of dirt as I wiped my forehead from the sweat. I stretched out my back as Teyla sighed and drunk from her water bottle. "But you know what?" I said, leaning on my shovel. Teyla looked over at me. "I wouldn't change it for anything." I said with a smirk as Teyla smiled at me. I grabbed my shovel as I went to dig it into the ground once more it clanged with something metal in the ground. "Teyla!" I cried with joy. I dropped the shovel as she ran over to me as I dug in the dirt and pulled out a small metal box.

"Is it the stone?" Teyla asked me as I pried the box open. It popped open as I pulled out the stone tile and handed it to her.

"Onto the next one," she said as she placed the tile in her bag.

John had told us to return to the monastery by sunset; we had found the second stone just before we were about to call it a day. Teyla had found this one as we had both sighed in relief that we wouldn't have to spend another day digging through dirt to find it. We packed up our gear and trudged sleepily back towards the settlement. My arms hurt and my back hurt from all the bending and hunching over that we had done today, I couldn't wait to have a nice hot meal and then pass out for about eight hours of sleep.

Teyla and I were the last ones to arrive back at the monastery as we dumped the gear just outside and walked in, the sun had just dipped below the horizon as the wafting smell of hot food hit me. My stomach grumbled loudly as I made a beeline straight for the table. I was sitting next to Ford who was eating his food as I began the wolf it down my throat. I could hear Ford, Teyla and John chuckling at me as I lifted my head.

"I'm hungry," I said with a full mouth as they laughed again.

"Does this remind you of anyone?" Teyla said with a smirk. I knew who they were comparing me too as I glared at her.

"Oh yeah, the grouchiness, the shoveling food into the mouth, talking with a full mouth, it's like I'm looking at Rodney." John said playfully. I stuck my tongue out at them as I continued to eat. It was a little while after we had finished our food when I finally brought up the tiles.

"So did we find them all?" I asked the rest of the team, minus Rodney who was chatting to Allina by the map.

"We got one more left to find, the ninth one. We'll resume the dig bright and early tomorrow." John said across from me. I rolled my eyes.

"Great, another day of digging, this dirt is going to be stuck to my skin by the time we get home." I complained. Teyla and Ford laughed just as Rodney came walking by the table.

"I'm heading to bed." He announced as John leaned back.

"Which bed might that be?" John said in a whisper. Ford, Teyla and I all shared sly grins.

"What?" Rodney hissed back at him.

"I think Allina might have a little crush on you, Doc." Ford said with a grin. Rodney looked pleasantly surprised.

"Oh, she does?"

"It is very clear to us all," Teyla said to him.

"Not sure why she would though," I mumbled, Rodney heard me as he glared at me. He then leaned down to John's level.

"Should I have, um…are you sure about this?" He asked him.

"Yeah, I'm very sure." John said.

"What should I do?" Rodney asked, which made me snort into my cup of water.

"You don't know what to do?" John asked in disbelief. I had always wondered if Rodney was still a virgin. Maybe my question was about to be answered.

"I know what to do, eventually. I mean, what should I do now? Should I say something, something tonight?"

"Serenading's always a good bet." I added in. I received another glare from Rodney.

"Tell you what, Valentino—wait till tomorrow. You'll be more on your game after you get some rest." Said John, slightly sarcastic.

"Oh, right. Right. Good answer," Rodney straightened back up and cleared his throat, "Good night." He said loudly as he headed up the stairs.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed! Next chapter we get a visit from our good friend Kolya! Let me know what you guys think is going to happen? Thank you so much everyone!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Oh you think Elizabeth will be the one to find out. I dunnooo we'll have to see about that!

 **Guest** **64** \- Aw thank you! She won't always be in control ;)

 **Guest** \- I appreciate you commenting on about that but right now i'm focusing on this story and my other Silver Lining one first. When I get time i will definitely update it.

 **Thank you everyone!**


	20. Genesis - Chapter 20

**Hi guys! So for some reason my Doc Manager page isn't working and it won't let me submit a new document. Hopefully I've found a way around it, I've been waiting all day to post and it's just not getting fixed so hopefully this will work. I'm using one of my old documents, deleting everything then pasting the new chapter, hoping that this one will work! Cross your fingers...i guess if you're reading this then it did work, ok, I'm crossing mine!**

 **Thank you everyone for alerting and reviewing this story! I'm sorry it took an extra day to get this out I was hoping that FanFic would sort it out in a few hours but it's been a day! Enjoy everyone!**

 **EDIT: Guys I am so sorry about the wait holy shit but finally it's posted, honestly that was the longest glitch I've ever had on this site!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

Allina had given us all time to clean ourselves up from al the dirt and sweat we had collected today. Then she showed us to our rooms, which were all upstairs. They were simple rooms; each had a large double bed. My room was the furthest away, at the end of the corridor; it had a large window looking out over the village below. Candles lit up the room along the wall as I changed into my large shirt, I didn't bring any bottoms, as it was a nice warm temperature on Dagan, it reminded me of Arizona in a way. A cool breeze wafted through the room as my hair blew in front of my face as I tucked it behind my ear and sat down on the stone ledge and gazed outside. Dagan was a beautiful planet; it had large trees and large open fields. I could hear laughter and talk from the village below. There was a lake not to far from the monastery, and it was a full moon tonight. The moon had barely risen but it was reflecting off the water making it seem silver in the night.

I heard my door open from behind me; I looked over my shoulder and saw John enter. He was changed into his panda shirt and black trousers as he walked over to me. I sighed as I met him halfway. "You shouldn't have come. It's too risky here." I whispered, I didn't want to take that chance of anyone hearing us. He shrugged.

"I'm a risk taking kind of man." He said with that cheeky grin. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You do understand the ramifications if we get caught, don't you?" I asked him with my serious tone.

"Of course I know. But didn't we decide to forget that?" He reminded me. I felt my cheeks blush.

"I know, but we have a mission to do. Our relationship comes after our job."

"Not for me." He said stubbornly. I was a little surprised. I knew John was one for breaking the rules and all that, but I thought that he would always put his job before his girlfriend. "Last time I put my work before my girl I lost her." He said, his hand reached out and caressed my cheek. I had become so accustomed to his large and rough hand that I now lived for his touch, it always sent sparks through me whenever he touched me, even if it was the briefest of caresses. "I'm not taking that chance with you," he said softly. It melted my heart even more to hear him say that. I almost made me want to cry. I hadn't felt this cared about in so long. I had pushed nearly everyone in my life away except for Ford. I used to think I was cursed, that whoever was near me would get hurt. Ford defied those odds, he used to call me crazy and say that I could never be cursed. But it didn't stop me from shutting everyone out. But John, without me even knowing it, he had weaved in his way inside my walls. And instead of me wanting to push him away, I wanted him close to me; I never wanted him to leave me, now I sound like a crazy stalker. I cupped his face with my hands as I pressed a kiss to his lips. I pulled away.

"Thank you." I whispered against his lips. He smirked down at me as his hands trailed down my sides and to my hips where he bunched the shirt up under his hands. I wanted to let him keep going, but I knew we couldn't, not here. I pulled away from him completely as he groaned.

"I'm a needy man, Mia." He said grumpily as I shook my head in laughter.

"I know, but…" I said, turning around to face him. "I think, just on missions we should keep to ourselves. If we're so focused on each other we aren't putting the mission first, which it should be. And if we do that, people could get hurt, they could get hurt." I motioned to the others down the hallway. John nodded, he looked disappointed but happy.

"I agree, no touchy feely of any kind." He said, crossing his arms over his chest. I rolled my eyes at his childish antics as I walked him to the door.

"Which means, you have to sleep in your own bed tonight." I said to him. John sighed.

"But how will I sleep without this?" He said, I was slightly confused until his hand snaked around my waist as he lightly slapped my ass. I jumped from the unexpected contact as I sent him a playful glare.

"I guess your right hand will have to do." I hissed to him as he looked at me, stunned. I opened up the door for him.

"My, my, does Miss Mia fantasize about me?" he whispered, stepping out into the hallway.

"Only about your mouth taped shut." I said cheerfully. John winked at me.

"Kinky."

"Shut up and go to bed." I grumbled. He turned to walk away when I reached out, grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to me. He fell onto me as he reached out to brace himself on the door as he met me in a hungry kiss. I caught him by surprise as I bit down on his bottom lip gently as my hand came to his front as I slipped my hand down to his pants. John bit down on my own lip as I grinned into his mouth. Without warning I pulled away from him as he stumbled slightly. He looked dazed and confused, he saw me shutting the door.

"Have fun tonight, John." I said, blowing him a kiss. If looks could kill I would be dead right now as I shut the door in his face.

* * *

"Alright, let's get digging," John said, trying to motivate the three of us at an early nine in the morning. Teyla, Ford and I groaned as we all went to separate corners and began our long and dirty mission. I could see out of the corner of my eye Rodney was talking to Allina for a long while. It made me bitter, why he got to stand around and chat was beyond me. This was his stupid mission to try and find the tiles, he should be digging too. An hour into the dig, I noticed that John was walking over to me; I silently smirked to myself as I continued digging, throwing the dirt over my shoulder. When he reached me I stopped and leant on the shovel.

"How was your night, Major?" I said quietly to him. I saw his jaw lock up as I chuckled. "I'll take that as you had a good night." I could see that he wanted nothing more then to say a few choice words to me but he couldn't.

"Keep digging, Lieutenant." He growled as he walked off. I chuckled as I walked over to my next area and began to dig.

"Major!" I heard Ford cry. Everyone stopped what they were doing as we all looked to Ford.

"Tell me you found the stone?" John asked him.

"Not quite, sir, but I think McKay should take a look at this." Ford said. I dropped my shovel as I jogged over to him. Everyone gathered around Ford's find as we looked at it. It was a large stone that was still half buried in dirt. Rodney and Allina begin dusting off the soil with brushes as the rest of us use our hands to wipe it all away.

"It carries the mark of The Brotherhood." Allina said. John pointed to some writing in Ancient that was around the outside of the stone. I only had basic skills to read it so I couldn't understand what it was saying.

"The writing's in ancient, can you read it?" John asked Rodney as the scientist stood up and looked around it.

"It's a warning," Rodney said ominously, "It says, 'only the Brotherhood of the fifteen should enter the forbidden chamber—"

"Of the Quindosim." Allina finished.

"What chamber?" Teyla asked. I looked back to the stone.

"It's got to be a door." I said as John agreed.

"Ford, get the gear, we'll open her up." He said as Ford hurried away to go and get the tripod.

We set up the tripod over the stone as we all attached the ropes around the stone. Ford and I grab the end of the rope as John tells us to pull. We both pull down on the rope as I hear crunching noises as the stone is lifted up. John, Teyla, Rodney and Allina then push the stone cover off to the side. We gathered around the entrance as I look in, it was pitch black. Ford uses the glow sticks as he drops them into the chamber. They hit the ground not five seconds later, it was a short drop.

"So, who wants to go first? Seems sort of like a Sheppard thing?" Rodney said with humor as I saw John pull a face.

"Alright, hoist me down." He said, standing up and brushing himself off. He hooked his foot into the harness as I gripped the tripod so that it wouldn't topple over as Ford started lowering John down. Before he disappeared he locked gazes with me. Next was Allina as she practically jumped into the harness when we brought it back up. Teyla went next and then we lowered Rodney into the chamber below.

"Easy Ford! God." I heard Rodney whine from below.

"Alright, he's down." Came John's annoyed voice. I glanced down into the hole and saw John's face come out into the light. I didn't particularly want to go down there, and besides, someone needed to hold the tripod when they were being lifted up and out of here.

"We'll stay up here, keep an eye on the descender." Ford said to John. John nodded.

"Stay sharp, I'll let you guys know if anything interesting happens." John said as Ford and I both reached down to the ground and picked up our p-90's. I didn't expect anything to happen. This planet was pretty poor and the people didn't have the current technology to overpower us.

A few minutes later I spoke, "Well I need to go pee. I'll be back." I said to Ford as he nodded.

"Don't go too far." Ford said to me as I waved and walked through the long grass. I reached the tree line as I quickly moved behind one of the large trees and did my business. I walked back out into the field as I looked up towards Ford and the chamber…but Ford wasn't there.

"Fo—" I was cut off when I felt the barrel of a gun press to the back of my head.

"Drop your weapon." I heard the man say. I gritted my teeth and didn't move, he dug the gun harder into my head. "Now!" He yelled. With reluctance I dropped the gun onto the floor. I felt him reach down and take my side arm from my leg holster and then the knife was removed from my back. But I felt his hand brush against my ass as I turned my head to glare at him. He grinned at me as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Bind her hands," a new voice said which made me freeze. I didn't dare move, I couldn't breathe. Another man came around and grabbed my hands roughly as he tied them with rope at my front. "Otherwise, she'll kill you."

A large and burly man came into my view as I felt nothing but anger for this man.

"Kolya." I said through gritted teeth. Kolya chuckled as he stepped closer to me.

"Nice to see you, Lieutenant Sumner. I'm surprised you're still alive." He remarked. He was talking about how during the Genii raid he had shot me in the stomach and left me for dead.

"You think a gunshot wound to the stomach is enough to kill me?" I snapped. Kolya didn't say anything but he nodded to his men as they began to drag me up towards the chamber.

* * *

"Is he dead?" Kolya said to one of his men in front of me. I realized that they had to be talking about Ford when I saw his body crumpled up on the ground.

"No, just unconscious. He will be like that for hours." The man next to Kolya said. I felt relief knowing that Ford wasn't dead.

"Excellent. We'll wait for them to—" As the man holding my arm walks by Ford's unconscious body he suddenly awakens. He trips up the man holding me as I stumble and fall onto the ground. I hear a gunshot as a body drops to the floor. I look up and see that it was the man who had been talking to Kolya. Kolya turns and points his gun at Ford.

"No!" I cry.

"Put the weapon down, Lieutenant Ford." Kolya instructs Ford. I was silently begging Ford to put his gun down; I knew full well that Kolya would shoot him. He had done so to me. The man who Ford was holding suddenly elbowed him in the face, as he was knocked unconscious as he hurriedly stood up.

"Major Sheppard! I'm afraid the Lieutenant has had to step away for a moment." Kolya called out to John. I knew that all of them down below would've heard the commotion from down there. Kolya nodded to one of his men as I was roughly pulled up from the ground and shoved into Kolya's hands. He gripped my upper arm as he tugged me forwards as he pointed the gun to my temple.

"Kolya!" I heard John from below. Kolya moved us so that we were both standing just before the opening.

"Surprised?" Kolya said with a smirk. I saw John look at me as I saw the panic flash over his face. He looked back to Kolya and he changed to furious.

"You're alive."

"As far as I can tell. Did you actually think a single bullet to the shoulder would kill me? I always thought you smarter then that." Kolya said, using my earlier words.

"What'd you do to Ford?" John asked.

"He's fine." Kolya remarked as I glared at him.

"What do you want?" Asked John. Kolya scoffed, as if it were obvious as to what he wanted.

"The same as you, Major—the lost treasure of the Quindosim."

"What possible use could that be to you?"

"The Daganians have informed us that this ZPM, whatever it may be, is an object of great power. And great power is of use to all people, especially the Genii."

"They're no use to you, Kolya. ZPMs only work on Atlantis." John said.

"Perhaps," Kolya said as I frowned. "But I prefer hearing that from a Genii scientist."

"We do not have it yet. We have not found the ninth stone!" Teyla called up from below as she moved into the light so that I could see her. She looked surprised to see me with a gun pointed at my head.

"We have an unbelievably large tactical advantage over you. Now, if you would rather I just cover the mouth of the chamber up and forget about the whole thing, I'm more than willing to consider it." Kolya said. He then clicked his gun as I heard it become ready to fire. "Or, I can kill Lieutenant Sumner right here, hoping that it might change your mind." I looked at Kolya. He was smirking at me as I kept his gaze. I wouldn't beg for my life, it's what he wanted.

"Kolya!" I heard John bellow. "If you hurt her!" I wanted to look at John but I knew I couldn't.

"Look we're close, but we're not there yet!" I heard Rodney jump in, "The ninth stone is hidden on another planet. All we have is the gate address."

"Dr McKay," Kolya said cheerfully, lowering his gun. I breathed a sigh of relief as I glanced down into the hole. John had his gun trailed on Kolya but he met my gaze. I didn't know what state I would look, probably petrified. "So wonderful to hear your grating voice again. How's the arm?" Kolya said mockingly. Rodney appeared.

"Do you want to keep trading barbs or do you want to find the ZPM? Look, lift me out of here, I'll help you find it, but then you let my team go." I felt pride looking at Rodney. Last time he had encountered Kolya he had been a quivering mess, now he was standing up to him. I saw John and Rodney bicker about something for a few seconds. Rodney looked back up, "Do we have a deal or not?" Kolya was silent for a few seconds.

"You and two Daganians will be raised out…along with everyone's weapon's and radio's. The rest of you will remain here. If Dr McKay finds the ZPM, the others will be let go. I give you my word." I wanted to tell him that his word didn't mean shit, but I thought against it.

"I'm coming up!" Rodney called out.

I looked out of the corner of my eye; Kolya was focused on what was happening down in the hole that he was paying me no attention.

"Kolya." I said casually, the man turned to look at me; he turned the gun on me once more. I could feel a pair of eyes boring into the back of my head, two guesses who that was. "You really should've bound my hands behind me." I saw his eyes widen for a fraction of a second before I swung my fists at him. The gun went flying out of his hands as I swung again. Kolya dodged as I was grabbed from behind. I threw my head back, wincing as I felt a sharp pain but the arms released me. I turned and kicked the man hard in the stomach as he fell back. I turned back to Kolya but before I could do anything I felt a sharp pain to my face as I spun and blacked out.

* * *

I woke up down in the chamber. It was dark and dusty and my face hurt. I pressed my hand to my lip, noticing that it was swollen and my jaw ached. They must have hit me with something to knock me out like that. I rubbed my forehead as I tried to will all the pain to go away.

"She's awake." I heard Teyla say. I sat up as the three of them crowed around me; I could see Ford had a nice bruise sprouting on his face. I smirked at him.

"Not so pretty now, huh." I groaned to him as Teyla helped me stand up. Ford laughed as I quickly looked at John, he was frowning at me and I knew that I was going to get an earful later, if we survived this.

"Speak for yourself, Sumner. We're matching." Ford pointed to my jaw as I groaned, great another bruise. John still hadn't said anything to me but he cleared his throat.

"Alright let's get back to the plan, we got to be ready for when Rodney comes back with Kolya." John said as Teyla and Ford walked off as John followed them, after giving me another stern look. I slumped against the wall, he was mad, of course he was, I could have gotten myself killed.

A little while later, I was digging through my vest pack, seeing the little bit of ration food and some basic painkillers for my jaw. I dry swallowed the tablets as I ate the energy bar, I watch John from a distance, he was talking with Ford about some battle plan as Teyla was practicing her knife work. John looked up as he met my gaze, for the past couple of hours he had been glancing at me, though he hadn't even spoken to me yet I knew I would soon get an earful from him. And it seemed that soon would be now, John said something to Ford as he patted him on the shoulder as he began to walk over to me. I hurriedly looked around for something to occupy myself with but we were in a dusty old chamber, there was nothing here. He reached me as he crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at me. I held his gaze as I raised up the second energy bar.

"Want it?" I asked sheepishly. John continued to glare slightly as I tucked it away into my pocket. "I'd ask you if something was bothering you but—"

"You know Kolya could've killed you, right?" John interrupted me. I bit my bottom lip nervously, and then I sighed.

"Kolya could've killed me when he first captured me, and I wanted to get payback for last time." I tried to reason with him, I kept my voice quiet as to not draw attention from the other two in the chamber.

"Kolya's the type of man to not have someone get payback," John said.

"I know, I was shot by him, remember?" I said, slightly sarcastic as John rolled his eyes. He stared at me for a long time, I could tell that he wanted to say more but the risk of being heard was too great.

"Just…just try not to antagonize him, ok?" John asked me. I scoffed as I laughed.

"You don't have to say that again, my jaw is killing me," I said as I rubbed my aching face. I saw John's jaw clench as he looked down at my jaw, I didn't know how badly it was bruised but I knew that it would be. His fists balled up at his side as he glared at the space to my left. He then looked back at me.

"I'll kill him if he hurts you again." He threatened as I smiled at him affectionately. I wanted to hug him, or just touch his hand but I couldn't.

"Major! I can hear them returning." Teyla called out to John as he snapped into action. He motioned for me to follow as the four of us crowded around the hole in the roof and watched as Kolya came into view. He smirked down at all of us.

"Where's McKay?" John called up. Kolya glanced behind him as Rodney came into our view.

"I'm here, and I got the ninth stone." He revealed, albeit he seemed a bit sulky. John looked a little bummed too, maybe they had hoped that if we didn't find the ninth stone that Kolya would just leave it, but no, Rodney had to be a smart ass and actually find the ten-thousand year old missing stone.

"I want the four of you back up against the wall," Kolya ordered to us, "I'll begin sending my men down, if you try anything, Dr. McKay will be shot." Kolya said as Rodney paled. John nodded to the three of us as we backed up against the back wall. I saw Ford quickly set up what looked like to be a flash bang grenade in a small hole that he had dug as he put his foot over it slightly. Teyla went and stood next to him. John moved next to Teyla and I was going to put myself on the end when John gripped my upper arm and moved me so that I was in between him and Teyla. We watched as Kolya's men dropped down from above as they trailed their guns on us. Finally Rodney and Kolya came down as Kolya motioned to all four of us. "Hands behind your heads," he ordered. I slowly raised my arms as I clasped my hands together behind my head. Kolya turned to look at one of his men, "If they even move an inch, shoot them."

The man nodded as Rodney and one of Kolya's men walked to the pedestal that had the remaining eight tiles. Rodney placed the ninth one in the center as he stood back, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did he started rearranging the other tiles around it. After a few minutes he sighed, "I just assumed that we place the stones on the pedestal, have someone put their hands on the palm prints, and hopefully, we get the ZPM. The only question is, what order do we put them in?"

"I think it's pretty straightforward." Kolya's man said to Rodney. As usual, Rodney gave him a dumbfounded look.

"Well, nothing been straightforward yet. What makes you think this will be?"

"The last one is the only one with grooves that match the center position."

"So?" Rodney snapped.

"So it fits into place. Complete the pattern, and get the ZPM. Why would they continue to play games at this point?" The man said. I rolled my eyes; this man was really naïve.

"I don't think you understand how these people thought." Rodney said to him.

"McKay, stop stalling." Kolya called out then. Rodney looked annoyed as he turned to face Kolya.

"I'm not stalling. I just think we need to consider the fact—"

"Pranos," Kolya said to the man, "arrange the stones and retrieve the ZPM."

Pranos shoved Rodney out of the way as he moved the tiles around, he places his hands on the imprints. A split second later two metal cuffs shoot out of them and hold his hands in place. Pranos cries out in pain.

"McKay." Kolya looks to Rodney as Rodney, slightly freaked out, points to it.

"What do you want me to do?"

The cuffs retract as Pranos pulls his hands up to his face, and he looks dazed. "What's this?" he mumbles as he collapses to the ground. Kolya bends down to his body as he checks for a pulse.

"He's dead. You knew this would happen." Kolya said to Rodney. Rodney folds his arms.

"Yes. Yes, I did. In fact I was in the middle of telling you as much when you ordered him to activate it. Look, you killed him, not me." Kolya looked like he wanted to shoot Rodney, but Kolya was a smart man and he knew that Rodney was right.

"What's the correct order of the stones?" Kolya asked him, rising up from the ground.

"I'm not sure yet." Rodney snapped at him. Kolya stared at him, then I saw his gaze move over to the four of us as he walked slowly to us.

"Well, you have five chances to get it right," Kolya said, smirking at each of us, he stopped in front of John, "You go first."

I wanted to say something to Kolya, but I knew now would not be the best time. Kolya motioned for John to start moving as he lowered his arms and shuffled over to the pedestal with Rodney. John began to start moving the tiles around for a few minutes; I was biting my bottom lip nervously. I really hoped that Rodney would figure it out soon.

"Anytime you want to start…" John said to Rodney a few minutes later.

"I'm thinking," Rodney said back to him.

"Alright. We tried one to nine," John said.

"Yes."

"How about nine to one?"

"Possibly. Look, Pranos was right. The center stone's the only one that locks into place. All the other must move around it. I'm just trying to think of a combination that makes sense with five in the middle."

"Fifteen. It's got to have something to do with fifteen…or nine, or five—"

"Shut up, please? I'm trying to think," Rodney said, giving him a glare.

"I'm not going to shut up, Rodney. My life's at stake." John hissed to Rodney.

"Exactly, so simmer down and let me save it!" Rodney retorted.

"Ever heard the term two heads are better than one?"

"It's a common misconception."

John turned to look at Kolya, "Give me the gun. I'll shoot him myself."

"This is taking too long. Choose and go," Kolya ordered them both. Rodney got an extremely annoyed look on his face as he looked at Kolya.

"What, you got somewhere you've got to be?" Rodney said to him as I sighed. At this rate they were both going to get killed.

"Choose and go," Kolya repeated. John and Rodney looked at each other once more as Rodney gave him a sheepish shrug.

"I got nothing."

"Thanks for the pep talk," John said sarcastically.

"Nine to one. It's all I can think of."

"Ok. Step back," John ordered Rodney. Rodney shuffled back a few paces.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not dead yet."

"Yeah. Sorry," Rodney said again, Rodney glanced over his shoulder at the three of us standing here, I could see on his face that he was preparing for the worst.

"Major. Now." Kolya said gruffly. I watched John; he was frowning at the tiles, probably wishing that the answer would jump out at him. A few seconds later I saw his eyes go wide.

"I got it!" He exclaimed as Rodney jumped beside him.

"What?"

"The Brotherhood of fifteen."

"What about it?" It was very rare that Rodney was asking all the questions for once.

"The numbers one to nine can be out in a three-by-three grid so they add up to fifteen in every direction," John explained as a look of realization came over Rodney.

"Oh, you're right. How'd you know that?"

"It was on a Mensa test," John said, still looking at the tiles.

"You're a member of Mensa?"

"No, but I took the test."

"When?" Rodney seemed a bit threatened by this. John glared at Rodney.

"You want to talk about this now, Rodney?"

The two spent the next few minutes rearranging the tiles on the pedestal. I looked over at Teyla; she still seemed to look worried as I realized that I was still biting my lip to hell and that I could taste blood from it.

"Good luck," Kolya said to John when he said that they had done it. John grimaced at Kolya as he hovered his hands over the imprints; I suck in a breath in my anxiety. John put his hands down on the stone as we wait for a few seconds. Then from out of the wall, a ZPM slides out. I let out my breath the same time John did. Kolya walks to the ZPM; while all their attention is focused on the ZPM John turns to look at the three of us here. He nods slightly, as to not draw attention. I glance over at Ford, he moves his foot slightly, I hear the click of the flash bang as the three of us turn and run down the chamber. I dive onto the floor and cover my ears and clamp my eyes shut as I hear the bang go off.

The three of us didn't waste any time, I jumped up, heading straight for Kolya. The man in question was stumbling around slightly; John, Ford and Teyla were fighting off his men as I threw a punch that connected with his cheek. His grunted as he swung his arm around blindly. I dodged as I swung again, I hit him in the jaw but as I was pulling away his hand gripped my wrist. I gasped when his other hand clamped around my neck. Even with his senses dulled he was still dangerous. He squeezed slightly as I spluttered, trying to call for help when Kolya threw me into the wall behind him. He held me there as I managed to get my leg free and kick him in the jewels. He dropped me as I collapsed to the ground, holding my neck as a body came flying passed as John punched him in the face. He had somehow managed to get his gun and was pointing it at Kolya. Kolya seemed to have his vision back as he watched the two of us as John extended his hand for me to grab it. I took it as he hoisted me up and onto my feet.

"Thanks," I said to John. I saw Kolya smirk in realization as his gaze went from John to me, and then back to him again.

"What the hell just happened?" Rodney cried out as he stumbled around behind me, he was rubbing his eyes as he leaned against the wall for support.

"Sorry, Rodney. I had no way of telling you what was coming." John said to him.

"What, my eyes? I need my eyes for seeing!" He whined to him as John rolled his eyes.

"Get the ZPM, Rodney." John ordered him as he stumbled over to the wall.

"It's a miracle I can still make out shapes, that's all I'm saying." Rodney said as he reached the ZPM. He was pulling it out of it holder as he looked down at Kolya who was staring at him. "Don't look at me." Rodney said to him as I smirked. John walked over to the hole as Teyla and Ford already stood there.

"All right. We're getting out of here. We're going to send a villager to pick you up in about an hour," John said as I joined the rest at the descender rope.

"The smart thing would be to kill me now," Kolya said, sulkily. John looks angry as he pulls his gun out again and aims it at Kolya.

"You're right. I tell you what—I'm going to want points for this in the future…but if you ever do this again I will kill you. Deal?" I frowned at John, he should shoot him now. I saw Kolya look at me and then he whispered something to John that I couldn't hear.

"Mia, come on!" I heard Ford call out to me, he was already out of the chamber and Teyla was beckoning me. I hurried over to it as I was hoisted up and out of there finally. I sucked in a deep breath of fresh air as the rest were brought up. John was last as he met my gaze quickly, I wanted to know what Kolya had said to him but I couldn't ask him now. We met up with Allina as Rodney showed her the ZPM; she was beaming at Rodney as he began talking to her about everything he could now power up in Atlantis. We all pack up the gear, not that we wanted to but we couldn't really leave it here. I shouldered one of the heavy bags as Ford took the Tripod and Teyla and John had our remaining guns.

* * *

Allina lead our group, with John and Rodney behind her and then the three of us bringing up the rear. "I thought we'd never find one of those things." Ford said out loud after we had walked for a little while.

"You know, I'm going to sleep pretty soundly tonight," John said with a smirk as Rodney held up the ZPM, examining it.

"Not me. I'm going to be up all night getting every system I can back on-line," Rodney jogged up to Allina, "Allina, I don't think we'll ever be able to properly repay you for this."

Allina stopped walking as she turned to Rodney, "You won't have to." She said as suddenly we were surrounded by armed men and women, I dropped my bag as I stood back to back with Teyla seeing as she had a gun.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered as I glared at the men in front of me.

"Alright. Easy. Easy." John said, trying to get them to not shoot at us.

"Allina, you involved the Genii?" Rodney asked her, I could hear in his voice that he was hurt, he had liked the woman.

"This has nothing to do with the Genii. I'm a member of the New Brotherhood," Allina revealed.

"Then what is this about?" Rodney asked her.

"Ten generations ago after a severe culling, the Brotherhood was destroyed. Many of us found their writings and decided to try and complete the task handed down to us by the Ancestors. I am the new Master Handler," Allina took the ZPM from Rodney, "we thank you for finding the Potentia, but it must go into hiding again."

"We come from the city of the Ancestors. That ZPM was intended for us," John said to Allina. Allina shook her head as she held the ZPM close to her.

"No. You live in Atlantis, but you are not the Ancestors," Allina said. John looked over at Rodney to give him a glare.

"What'd you tell her?"

Rodney looked away guiltily as he faced Allina, "Atlantis might fall if we don't take this ZPM back. Then it would serve no purpose. Do you really think the Ancestors would have wanted this?"

"None of us can know their plan," she said. That's because they're all dead, I thought.

"They don't have a plan. Do you think getting attacked by the Wraith and chased out of the galaxy is something they planned for?" John said to her.

"Allina, you're too smart to think—" Rodney started speaking but Allina cut him off.

"The Potentia will be put into hiding on another world. When the Ancestors return our people will be greatly rewarded."

"Allina, you can't believe that. Look, come back with us. Let me prove it to you," Rodney begged her but Allina shook her head.

"This is how it must be. Now it is time for you to leave," Allina said to us as she stepped away, a few of her followers tailed her as she walked off into the forest around us. The rest kept their guns on us as one barked out for us to get moving. I was reaching down to pick up the heavy bag when one man poked me with the gun.

"Hurry up," he ordered. I glared at him, I picked up the bag, and then on second thought I chucked it at him.

"Here, you're going to need this to dig your own graves for when the Wraith come." The man stumbled under the weight of it as he shot me a glare as I chuckled and caught up with the rest of the group.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Hopefully my plan worked and you were all able to read this chapter! Hope you enjoyed, as always thank you everyone for your support!**

 **REPLIES**

 **mad whiskey -** Thank you! Yeah I know it's pretty mature, I went back and labeled the chapter as M but if I did the story M it won't shop up on normal searches! Hopefully they don't catch on xD

 **Adela** \- Yes no one knows...well yet anyway! Thank you!

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you! Trouble follows Mia like a second skin, just like in this chapter, though she did get some revenge on Kolya! But don't worry, they'll meet again!

 **Thank you everyone! See you next week, hopefully on time!**


	21. Genesis - Chapter 21

**Hi guys! So this one is on time this week yay! So we do delve right into the final chapter but some are fillers with mushy cuteness. This one's half and half, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

Our entourage escorted us to the gate. Rodney and John both had sour looks on their faces as we stepped through after putting their I.D.C's through. Elizabeth met us, she took one look at our faces and sighed.

"I'm guessing it was a dead end," she said. Rodney scoffed.

"No, we had it, and then we lost it." Rodney said. Elizabeth looked confused as we moved towards the stairs. John took over.

"We found it, but the Genii showed up," Elizabeth gasped, looking at all of us, then back to John as he continued, "We got rid of them but then the Daganians took it from us, thanks to Rodney."

"Hey!"

"Did you try to explain—" Elizabeth asked but was cut off from Rodney, we walked up the stairs.

"I tried. Believe me, we tried."

"We could have used it," Elizabeth said in annoyance.

"Of course we could have," John said to her.

"No, you don't understand. While you were off-world, a Wraith dart flew over our city," Elizabeth said as I heard Ford drop the bag he was holding in shock. I felt my jaw drop to the floor.

"I'm sorry?" John said to her, clearly in shock from the news.

"We lost a jumper, along with Markham and Smith," Elizabeth said sadly.

"We what?" John said in confusion, I could tell that he was pissed.

"And it scanned us," Elizabeth added. I slapped my forehead, this was totally not good.

"We just lost two of my men and a Jumper, and this is the first I'm hearing about it?" John said angrily. Elizabeth rivaled his glare as she quickly glanced over all of us then back to him.

"I tried to reach you, but you've been out of radio contact for twelve hours. Now, the dart sent a transmission deep into space, and then it self destructed before we could get to it."

"Yeah, we scanned the area with our deep space sensors and uh…" Zelenka said, stepping up from the chair he had been sitting on this entire time.

"We have deep space sensors?" Rodney asked, surprised but happy.

"It's a long story," Zelenka said.

"And we found something else, rather unsettling," Elizabeth said. She was just rolling out all the good news today.

"I'm already unsettled. Show me," John ordered as Zelenka activated the screen behind him. It flickered and on a yellowed screen there were three separate outlines of some odd shapes.

"What are those?" Rodney asked from beside me.

"Wraith hive ships. Three of them. The system analysis just got back—" Zelenka was explaining when John cut him off.

"Where are they headed?"

"If they maintain direction and speed, they'll be over our planet within two weeks," Elizabeth said. John was on the other side of me, I saw him glance down at me as I met his gaze quickly. He looked terrified and I bet I was mirroring his expression. I looked back to the screen.

"Well shit," I said.

"My thoughts exactly," Elizabeth said to me.

* * *

"Ok, I want you all to get cleaned up and have a little rest, then we'll all meet in the conference room in three hours," Weir ordered us. It was slow moving; all of our gazes were too fixated on the screen to really want to do anything. McKay was the first one to go, he mumbled something about how he was hungry as he left. Ford dropped off next, with me following, leaving Teyla and John. I walked slowly behind Ford down to the armory. We both quietly hung up our vests as John and Teyla entered. It was an awkward silence between us all as Ford and Teyla left, leaving John and I. I could hear him unloading the p-90 as I leaned against the wall and drummed my fingers against the wall.

"On a scale of one-to-ten, how screwed do you think we are?" I said jokingly with a laugh. John turned slightly so that I could see his face, he was completely emotionless as I cleared my throat and pushed off the wall. I was dying to know what Kolya had said to John back on Dagan but with everything that had just happened it seemed trivial, but I still wanted to know. He was unzipping his vest and was hanging it up of the rack when I moved beside him. "What did Kolya tell you?" I asked him. John looked at me, he was about to say something when the doors opened and another team came in, chatting about their mission. I stepped away as John nodded to their Captain, I recognized Nathan Fields in this team, he waved at me as he walked up to me.

"Hey Sumner," he said as he reached me. I plastered on a smile and out of the corner of my eye I saw John sneak out of the room, well not really sneak but he managed to get out without drawing attention from anyone, except me.

"Hey, Fields," I replied to him politely.

"You hear about the Wraith ships heading for us?" Nathan asked me with a grim look. I nodded.

"Yeah, seems like their finally on their way," I said with a shrug. I kept on glancing over at the door, expecting to see John return but I knew he wouldn't, I was dying to know what he was going to say.

"Hopefully we'll get to blow their brains out before they annihilate us," Nathan said with a grin. I grimaced.

"Yeah, I doubt that's going to happen—listen I've got to go," I said as I started walking away. Nathan looked glum but smiled.

"Ok, I'll see you around then," he said as I left the armory. I walked down the corridor, looking up and down as I passed the branches but I couldn't find John anywhere. He seemed to have disappeared into thin air. I sighed as I turned on my heel and walked to my room, I'd see him at the meeting anyway, and hopefully corner him after and make him tell me what Kolya said, and I wanted to know if he was ok, he seemed to be really freaked out about the Wraith coming.

* * *

When the three hours were up I returned to the control room as everyone filed in. John was already seated at the table, I quickly moved to the seat next to him as Teyla sat next to me. I glanced over at John but he was looking dead ahead at Elizabeth. I frowned; it was like he was ignoring me now. I huffed and leant forwards on the table as Elizabeth started speaking. "Well, we knew they were coming; at least now we know when."

"That's something," John said.

"That's something?" Rodney exclaimed, glaring at him.

"It means that there's still time, Rodney—there's no reason to panic…yet."

"Where there is time, there is hope," Teyla said. Elizabeth and I nodded.

"Agreed. So, any recommendations?" Elizabeth asked everyone. I came up with nothing.

"Other than panic?" Carson said nervously from beside her. I saw Elizabeth roll her eyes slightly.

"Other than panic, yes."

"I realize this might not be cool, but we should consider M7G-677," Ford spoke up from down the table.

"As a possible evacuation site?" Elizabeth asked him.

"No, ma'am. I'm suggesting we take their ZPM," Ford said. I felt my jaw drop, as there was a stunned silence for a few seconds.

"Their only means of protection from the Wraith? A planet populated mostly by children?" Elizabeth said in disbelief.

"He raises a valid point," Rodney said as I scoffed, he sent me a glare, "We've already established that the ZedPM is nearly depleted, but it could be of some limited use."

"And let them die instead?" I said bitterly.

"You asked for suggestions. It's a matter of survival," Ford said. Elizabeth shook her head.

"I see. We'll were not quite there yet, and as long as I'm in charge, we will never be there."

"I agree. If this is to be our end, it is best we face it with dignity and honor," Teyla said with a pointed look at both Rodney and Ford. Rodney then raised his hand slightly.

"To that end, I actually have an idea—in addition to panic."

"Let's hear it," John said. I almost jumped, he had been quiet the entire debate I had almost forgotten he was there, I wonder what he thought about taking their ZPM?

"I think we can send a message back to Earth through the Stargate," he said. There was a collection of confused faces through the room.

"Excuse me?" Carson said.

"I thought we didn't have enough power?" Elizabeth said.

"Not to send a person, no. We'd never be able to maintain the wormhole long enough. But I think if we were able to tie together all of our power generating capabilities, we might, and I emphasize might, be able to establish a wormhole long enough to send a message," Rodney explained.

"How much time are we talking about?" John asked.

"Well approximately, one point three seconds, give or take," Rodney said awkwardly.

"That's not much time," Carson said to him.

"Time enough to say, 'S.O.S.'" Ford said.

"Don't be so analogue," Rodney said sarcastically, "One point three seconds is more than enough time to send a message if it's in the form of a high compression data burst. Now, I helped refine the encoding for the US Air Force a few years back. Colonel Carter should be able to decipher it on the other side."

"You're suggesting this now?" said John, raising his voice at him.

"Because it probably won't work, and there's a very good chance it could overload our naquadah generators in the process."

"Well then, we can't take that risk! No power, we won't have a chance in hell."

"We're probably going to die anyway," I grumbled to myself.

"There are three Wraith hive ships on the way, Major! Desperate times call for desperate measures," Rodney said to him.

"Assuming it's possible, how much information could we send?" Elizabeth asked Rodney.-

"Everything. I mean, mission reports from all the senior staff, a ton of stuff on Atlantis, things we've learned in Pegasus…"

"All that in one second?" Ford said in disbelief.

"One point three," John said sarcastically. Rodney pulled a face at John.

"See, you jest, but if I can finesse the compression ratios, you'll be looking for things to add."

"Do it," Elizabeth told him as Rodney gets up and runs out of the room. The rest of us stand as I follow Teyla out of the conference room, I glance behind me as I get to the stairs and saw John talking with Elizabeth in the control room, I decided that after that would be the best time to finally confront him. Something was bothering him, first he disappeared on me in the armory and now he was ignoring me, was it something I had done? I had to know. I hurried down the stairs as I moved behind them and waited patiently. A few minutes later I heard heavy footfalls coming down the stairs as John passed by me, he didn't notice me as I pressed myself against the wall, once he had gone I quickly darted out and followed him at a distance. I looked around the corridor, there wasn't anybody around thank God as I moved, I wasn't trying to sneakily follow him, I was hoping that he would hear me and turn around but he walked around one of the corners as I ran to catch up with him. I rounded the corner as I saw a door to one of the science labs close. I frowned in confusion, that lab wasn't occupied by anyone at the moment; it was just used for storage of extra equipment right now. What was he doing in there? I waved my hand over the sensor as the door opened and I stepped in, the lights were on as I quickly glanced around.

"You aren't very good at sneaking," John said as I jumped. He was behind me and leaning up against the wall. His arms were crossed and he was slightly frowning.

"I wasn't trying to sneak," I defended myself as I copied his stance.

"What are you doing, Mia?" He asked as I scoffed at him.

"What am I doing? What the hell are you doing? Ever since we got back from Dagan you've been acting like I've kicked you in the balls or something! Are you still mad about what I did with Kolya? I'm sorry, it was stupid of me!"

"It's not that," he grumbled.

"Then what? Did I do something else? Have I said something? Is it what Kolya said to you before we left?" I repeated the question I had been dying to know. His eyes locked to mine and I saw on his face that he was surprised that I had brought it up; maybe he thought that I had forgotten.

"It's nothing," he said as he moved to the door.

"Oh no!" I yelled as I moved in front of him and blocked him from leaving, I pressed my hands onto his chest as I glared up at him, "Every time something's bothering me you force me to talk, now it's your turn, so spill," I said to him as he sighed. He moved away from me and walked further into the room, I felt hurt that he couldn't be close to me. "What did he say?" I asked him once more. John paced for a few seconds before he sighed heavily.

"He said, 'If I'd have known, I would've shot her'."

I let it sink in, but still not quite understanding what he was on about, "huh?" I said dumbly. John finally approached me.

"In the end he realized about us."

"Oh," I said softly, finally getting it. John looked sad, I scoffed and waved my hand, "So what, I've taken a bullet from him before, and what are the chances that he's going to ambush us again?"

"It's not the point," he said sharply, "he would've killed you."

"It's not the first time."

"Mia," he said sharply, making me wince. He started pacing once more, he rubbed his forehead, and then he ran a hand through his already messy hair. I stood there silently, waiting for what I knew what was going to come. "Maybe this was a bad idea," he mumbled. He stopped pacing and he looked over at me, I'm guessing he was expecting me to do something. I shrugged.

"If that's what you want." I said. John looked at me with his mouth agape.

"That's it? You're not going to fight?"

"Well what do you want me to do, John?!" I said, outraged. He stepped back in shock. "You're the one who said to take the risk! This is part of the risk, we both knew this wasn't going to be easy!"

"I'm putting you in danger by being with you, I have enemies that obviously want me dead or want to hurt me," he argued. I scoffed at him.

"I put myself in danger every time I walk through that gate! I knew what I sighed up for and I knew what I was getting myself into when I said yes to being with you, we both did. You can't let one stupid old man and his threat get to your head!"

"This is different!" He yelled, "it's one thing to get yourself hurt, but if you got hurt because of me? I couldn't live with myself, Mia." I frowned at him and shook my head in frustration.

"Fine," I said, crossing my arms, "if you want to end this, then end it. But you were the one who started it, if this is how you're going to react then by all means, there's the door! Don't let it hit your ass on the way out!" I yelled as I pointed to the door. John sighed as I faced away from him. I heard his footsteps coming towards me, and I assumed that he was going for the door when I felt the tears well up in my eyes, which scared me. I didn't think I'd react this way to him deciding to break it off. He stopped in front of me, which made me look up at him; he seemed to notice the look in my eyes as he sighed. He took my face in his hands as he bent his head and kissed me. My eyes fluttered closed as his hands moved to my ponytail as his fingers pulled out the hair band and ran his fingers through my free locks. My hands rested on his waist as one of hands came up and caressed the side of my face. He pulled away but leant his forehead against mine, he sighed again as his breath breezed over my face.

"I don't want to end this."

"Neither do I," I replied as John kissed me once more. This time it was more needy as his tongue slipped through my lips. His hands trailed down my sides as I shivered into his touch, his hands came to rest at my waist as his hands slipped under my shirt as he caressed my skin. I felt the intense feeling that I always got when he touched my skin as I pulled away from his mouth to gasp for air. He took the opportunity to plant kisses along my jaw and down my neck as I moaned, I was getting turned on as my hands started roaming over his own body. I moved them under his shirt and around to his back as I dug my nails into his skin as he sucked on the sensitive spot just below my earlobe. "John." I said breathlessly as he suddenly spun me around and I was pinned between the wall and him, his hands gripped my wrists as he pinned them to the wall beside my head as he kissed me hard on the mouth. His leg parted mine apart as I rocked myself against him as I felt his hardness against me. God how I wanted him so much it was killing me. I moaned against his mouth as he rolled his lower body onto mine again, I threw my head back against the wall.

"John, I need you," I gasped as he kissed my collarbone.

"I know, but not here." He said. And then with that he ushered me out of the abandoned science lab as we both hurried to his quarters. We were lucky that we didn't run into anyone, it was around dinnertime at the moment so most people were getting dinner in the mess hall right now. As soon as his doors were shut we were both back together as our clothes quickly disappeared and we got tangled up with each other's bodies.

* * *

A couple of hours later we both lay together in John's small bed, we were both naked as I lay half on his chest and our legs were intertwined together. I was playing with his dog tags on his chest as I felt him playing with the ends of my hair. We were both lost in thought as I yawned loudly and John chuckled.

"What are we going to do about the Wraith?" I asked him suddenly. I could tell that he had not been expecting me to say that as he rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Way to kill the mood with impending death, Mia." He said sarcastically as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure, McKay should come up with something."

"Hopefully," I muttered as he gave me a pointed look.

"So optimistic," he said jokingly as I grinned. I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, I ran my hand over his stubble and as I pulled it back he caught my hand with his. He pressed his lips to the back of my hand and then bent his head and kissed me on the mouth. He pulled back and I saw his eyes skim over my face.

"I'll figure something out, I won't let the Wraith come within ten feet of you," he said as he brushed a piece of my hair back from my face. I felt my mouth pull up into a smile as I hugged him tightly around his torso as I lay my head down on his chest as I fell asleep. Although all night I had nightmares about the Wraith.

* * *

I woke up to an empty bed a few days later; the sheets were pulled up to my chin as I rubbed my sleepy eyes. I could hear the shower running from the other room as I stretched my arms over my head and yawned loudly. A few minutes later I heard the shower shut off and John came walking out with a white towel wrapped around his lower body. I watched him as he ran a hand through his wet hair, spraying the floor with water. I bit my bottom lip as he noticed that I was awake, he gave me his boyish grin as he walked over to me. I could see droplets of water running down his arms and stomach as I pressed my lips into a firm line. Seeing him like that made me want to jump his bones. I sat up in the bed, taking the sheet with me as he leant down and kissed me on the mouth.

"Morning," he said, I could still hear the huskiness in his voice from being asleep; it made me shiver.

"Morning," I replied as he went to his drawers and pulled out a fresh uniform. I watched him with eagle eyes as he pulled his underwear and pants over his ass, I had half a mind to go over there and grab his cute ass. He left himself shirtless as he sat on the bed next to me.

"Teyla and I are going to do some recon on the Wraith Hive ships." He said as I snapped my head around to look at him.

"What? Is that going to be dangerous?" I asked him.

"We're just going to look and see what we're going to be up against." He said as he moved his hand to brush my hair behind my ear. "I'll be gone just the day." I pouted slightly.

"Be careful," I said to him. John pulled his shirt over his head as he cupped my face in his hands.

"Always am." He said to me, he kissed me once more, longer this time as and I sighed in disappointment when he pulled away from me. He flicked my nose with his finger as he laced up his boots. I watched him silently as he finished and then rose from the bed. He glanced over at me and sent me a mock salute as he left me alone in the room. I sighed as I climbed out of his bed and went into his bathroom to have a shower.

* * *

I sat in the mess hall a half hour later; I was digging into some eggs and toast when I saw Ford enter. I waved him over as he grinned and jogged up to me. "Hey." He said, taking the seat across from me. "I've been looking for you," he said to me as I drank my juice.

"Well I've been here," I said with a smirk, Ford shook his head.

"I meant this morning." He said.

"I was out running," I said absentmindedly.

"With your mystery lover?" He said cheekily as I sent him a glare.

"What do you want?" I asked him, I was getting annoyed every time he brought up my mystery lover. Ford saw my irritation as he obviously dropped the subject; he leaned back in his chair.

"Dr. Weir's letting me give all the personnel on base a chance to send a video home, you know, with the impending threat of death on the way."

"And you're telling me this why?" I said, annoyed. I had stopped eating and was staring at him, waiting for him to say it.

"Well, I thought maybe you would send one to your Granda—"

"No." I said firmly.

"Come on, Mia. At least tell him about what happened with your dad, he has a right to know," Ford argued. I was furious; I stood up from my chair, hitting it with the back of my legs. I grabbed my tray.

"I'd rather chew on glass," I said venomously as I stormed to the rubbish bin and dumped my tray and then walked out of the mess hall.

I walked around Atlantis for a little while, lost in thought. I felt bad for snapping at Ford like I had, I didn't mean to. And after a little while I found myself standing outside of his quarters, I sighed as I waved my hand over the sensor. I waited a few seconds before I saw a shadow come to the door, it opened and I saw Ford standing in his old military gear. I noticed that when he saw me he looked pretty pissed off, I guess I deserved that. "Hey." He said gruffly.

"Hi," I replied to him. I shuffled my feet on the floor. "I'm sorry about this morning. I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did." I apologized to him as Ford sighed but then he smiled.

"It's ok. I get it, you know."

"Good." I said with a cheeky grin. I motioned to his uniform, "You about to do your video?"

"Yep." Ford said as he stood to the side to let me into his room. I saw the camera set up in the middle of the room with a chair facing it. I stood off to the side as Ford went up to the camera. "Ok, recording, plenty of battery. So why am I not seeing anything? Oh stupid!" Ford takes off the lens cap as I laugh at him as he shoots me a dark look. He goes and sits down on the stool. "Hi Grandma, Grandpa! It's me, Aiden…obviously." I laugh softly as he shoots me another look. "I'm talking to you from a place…far, far home. I'm good though. You don't have to worry. Life here's pretty routine." I smirk as I think of all the times we've had to dodge Wraith and Genii attacks. "I'm hoping that I'll be able to get home some time soon but, you know, if I'm stuck here a while, I want you to know that I'm good. I'm doing things, seeing things I never thought I'd see."

You know it, I thought with a smirk.

"I wish I could tell you all about it. Who knows, one day maybe I'll be able to. But I want you both to know that you're right here," Ford raises his hand and places it over his heart. "Always, all the time." He stares into the camera for a few seconds before he grins. "And that's not all! You'll never guess who I ran into while I'm out here." I watched as Ford looks over at me.

"Oh, no, Ford don't!" I say as he runs over to me and drags me towards the camera. "Come on, Ford!" I whine as I am pulled in front of the camera.

"Just say a few things, Mia, they'll be thrilled to see you." Ford said to me as he knelt down next to me and made me wave into the camera with my own hand. I sighed and smiled into the camera.

"Hi Grandma and Grandpa!" I said cheerfully. "It's been a few years since I've seen you guys, hope you're doing well. And say hi to Lara for me." I glance down at Ford as he motions for me to continue. "Um, I hope that we can come home soon and see you guys, I miss your pumpkin soup Grandma," I chuckled. "It was quite a surprise for both of us when we ran into each other, but we're both good, even if Ford does annoy me every day." I said as Ford nudged me in the shoulder, I almost fell off the stool; I turned back to him and shoved him as he laughed. "He's still acting like the child I know he is but it makes being here a lot more enjoyable." I paused. "Ok, well hope to see you all soon. Bye guys!" I said as I waved.

"Bye Grandma, Grandpa! I miss you." Ford said as he waved also. He stood up and walked to the camera as he turned it off. He was still for a few seconds before he turned back to face me. "Are you sure you don't want to send one to your Grandpa?"

"I'm sure Ford. Get Elizabeth or Major Sheppard to do it. I won't." I said as I left Ford's room.

* * *

John returned the next day. I hadn't seen him yet as he was briefing Elizabeth on the Wraith data that he had collected from going out with Teyla but I had heard that it was bad. We didn't even stand a chance. Ford had finished his personal messages and I had also heard that Kavanagh had taken time out of his message to bash Elizabeth on her role here. I hoped that Ford accidently deleted it or something; with the few encounters I had with the arrogant scientist he was a grade A asshole. I was sitting on the South Pier; it was sunset as I breathed in the salty air and shut my eyes. The evening sun was warming up my exposed skin as I leant back on the bench onto my back. A few minutes later I heard the door open and footsteps stopped by my head. I had a feeling it was John and I also had a feeling I knew what he was about to say.

"Why won't you do the video?" He asked me. I opened my eyes and stared up at him. His hands were on his hips as he glared down slightly at me.

"How'd you find out?" I asked him as I sat up.

"Ford told Elizabeth and Elizabeth told me, why won't you do the video?" He asked again as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I don't see what the big deal is? I don't want to send a message to my hateful Granddad, big deal. Why can't you do it?"

"Because he's not my family."

"He's not mine either!" I snapped. John frowned at me as I turned away. Fine, he wanted to know so badly, so I was going to tell him. "My granddad was the one who told my father to not speak to me, he was the one who told him to disown me." I turned back around to face him. "He was the only person who was there for me, and yet when I chose a different path, he threw me away like a piece of trash! So there, now you know why." I could see the sympathy in John's eyes as he stared at me. I was breathing heavily, having gotten myself worked up over it.

"Mia," John said softly as I met his gaze. He walked slowly to me. "Don't you think, that with the impending threat, to put aside your differences and send a message to your family? You and your dad made up just before it was too late, what if we don't get out of this and you never speak to him. He'll never know that you forgave your dad. Be the bigger person here." John said convincingly as I sighed. John and I held our gazes for the longest time before I looked away and out to the golden sea.

"Fine, I'll do it." I said finally.

* * *

"For the record this is against my will." I said with a pointed finger to Ford and John as I sat myself down on the stool. John rolled his eyes as Ford laughed.

"Just do the damn tape, Mia. We need to hurry cause McKay is getting angsty about sending the data." I waved my hand as a signal for him to go as I saw the little red light come on. I took a deep breath and looked into the barrel of the camera.

"Hi, Granddad. You're probably surprised to see me," I said, "Not as much as me though." I muttered under my breath. "It's been a long time since we spoke, a lot has happened," I said with a laugh. I cleared my throat; this was not a joking matter. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you something. See I've gone on this expedition far away, with a whole bunch of scientists and military, Aiden Ford's here too, if you remember him. Anyway this expedition is pretty dangerous, we've got a lot of enemies out here and, um…" I paused and glanced at both Ford and John. I could tell that I was going to get choked up explaining how dad died. "Well dad was here. He was my Commanding Officer funnily enough, imagine the shock on my face when I turned around and saw him yelling at a Lieutenant, Ford to be exact." I chuckled.

"We came to this place and we got captured by the enemies. Dad, myself and most of our team were all taken captive. And it's where dad and I made up," I felt the tears pool in my eyes and my bottom lip quivered. "We forgave each other," I said sadly into the camera. "Granddad…" I started to speak but got too choked up on my words. "Dad was killed by them. But he died with honor and courage and saving the lives of many. I'm sorry you have to find out this way but unfortunately that same enemy is coming back for all of us here, and we may not make it out alive," I stopped again as I wiped my cheeks from the shed tears. "I just wanted to let you know…I forgive you. I understand why you said all the things you did, you were mad, but Granddad I never stopped loving you. You were the one who was always there for me as a kid when dad was away, you taught me how to fish and you taught me how to shoot my first gun. I will always cherish those memories of our time together. Maybe if I get out of this, we can catch up and…" I wiped my eyes once more. "If I don't then I guess this is goodbye." I looked up at both Ford and John, both had solemn expressions. "I'm done," I said as I jumped up from the stool and ran out of the room like lightening.

I could hear footsteps catching up with me as I turned a corner. I felt a hand grab my arm as they forced me to stop running as I spun around. John pulled me but I pushed him away. "Don't," I said to him. He stepped away from me as I ran my hands through my hair. "I just need to be alone for a while." I said. He nodded to me as I turned on my heel and walked away from him.

* * *

 _I was running through a Wraith Hive ship. I didn't know how I got there, all I knew was that I had a feeling that I needed to find someone, and I needed to find them quickly. I didn't spot any Wraith drones walking around which I was thankful for as I came running around a sharp corner and into a large chamber. It looked eerily familiar for me as I saw the large table covered in rotting fruit and meat. I walked further into the chamber, looking around and waiting for something to jump out at me. I came walking around the table as I saw a skeletal body on the floor. I covered my mouth with my hand as I stumbled back into the table. I knew who's body this was, and I now recognized the chamber I was in. This was the Wraith Hive ship that I had been taken to when I had been captured. Something glinted down on the body as I frowned. It couldn't be the dog tags, I had them. John had given them to me as he had taken them from his body. I slowly walked forwards, my legs shaking, why on Earth was I reliving this memory? I crouched down on the ground, and sure enough I spotted the dog tags. I reached out, my hand shaking violently as I flipped them over in my hand._

 _'Aiden Ford.'_

 _I dropped them in shock as I fell back onto my ass. "No." I whispered. This didn't happen, what was going on? Suddenly a male scream pierced through the silence. I stood up quickly as I recognized the voice of who had screamed. "John," I said to myself, not believing that it could be him. His scream tore through the ship once more as I took off running towards it. I followed the sounds of his pain filled screams as I pushed my legs harder; I had to get to him. I came running into another large chamber, I saw John tied to a table; he was already withered and grey as I screamed and lunged for the Wraith attacking him. I threw myself onto his back as he threw me off as I hit the side of the room and collapsed to the floor. I looked up and saw the withered old body of John staring down at me, and I watched the life leave his eyes. The male Wraith turned on me as I was frozen in fear, he stalked up to me, I tried to bat his hands away at most but he grabbed me around the neck tightly as I felt my windpipe getting crushed. He raised me up high into the air and slammed me against the wall as my head cracked against it painfully as I cried out. I saw him raise his feeding hand as I cried out, begging him not to as I felt his thrust his hand onto my chest. This felt worse then getting shot, I screamed with everything I had in me as I could feel my life being sucked away into his hand._

And then I woke up. My own screaming had woken me from my dream as I thrashed around in my bed. I sat up, holding my chest and looking down my shirt to see if there were any handprints. I looked around my room, relieved that I was in Atlantis and it had only been a dream, but it had been a horrible dream. I could feel myself crying hysterically as I gasped for breath and wiped at my eyes furiously but the tears kept on coming. I patted down the bed next to me, John wasn't here, why wasn't he here? I then remembered that I had told him I needed some time alone, but right now I needed to see him, I had to know that he was ok and what I had just dreamt wasn't real. I threw the covers off me and bolted for the door. I didn't care if anyone saw me in my silky purple pants and singlet as I ran down the corridors of Atlantis. It must've been late as no one was around and it was completely silent, except for the sound of my bare feet hitting the chilly marble floor. I arrived at his door as I waved my hand over the sensor, I could hear it beeping inside. I waved my hand over it again but the door still didn't open. I then used my fist as I banged on the door hard; finally I saw the light turn on from inside the room. A few seconds later the door opened and John stood there rubbing his tired eyes. He looked grumpy but when he saw that it was me and he saw how much of a mess I looked his expression changed.

"Mia, what's wrong?" He asked. I couldn't help it, I burst out into tears. I felt John pull me into his room as I heard the door shut as I stood there and cried into my hands. John enveloped me in his embrace as I wrapped my arms around his body tightly as I cried into his stupid panda shirt. I felt his cheek rest on top of my head as his hand rubbed circles on my back and the other was running his fingers through my hair. I didn't even know what I was crying about, I guess it was a lot of things. Having to tell my Granddad about dad being killed, the Wraith coming to annihilate us in just over a week, my scary dream with Ford and John killed and then myself being fed on by the Wraith. It was just a lot of built up emotions that I hadn't let come out. We stood there for a long time, and John just held me as I continued to cry my heart out. Finally I managed to stop crying as I wiped my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice was hoarse after crying for so long.

"Hey," John said as I looked up and met his gaze. His thumb brushed over my cheek. "I'm glad you came here," He said. I felt my bottom lip quiver at the tenderness he was showing. And it always made me feel special as I knew he wasn't like this around other people, he only allowed me to see he soft and gentle side, and I was the exact same with him. I would've never have cried like this in front of Teyla or Rodney, Ford maybe but I found myself gravitating more to John with my problems then Ford.

"I just had a really, really bad dream," I said to him. John smirked as he pulled me in for another hug as I breathed in his musky scent.

"Come on," John said as he pulled on my hand. "It's still too early for me," he said teasingly as I frowned and looked at the clock on his bedside table. It read that it was almost four in the morning, I internally groaned as I snuggled up beside him in the small bed. And this time when I dreamt, I dreamt of only pleasant things.

* * *

 **Aw, ok so we had a mushy cuteness and Letter From Pegasus, I know it was really short and didn't go into much detail but there wasn't much for Mia to be involved with except being in Ford's message and doing her own. I will be expanding on her relationship with her Grandfather in season 2 so he's not just going to be passing day dream, he does have a part in her story and how she's become who she is today. And I was wondering, does anyone have any idea who might find out about them first? I'm not revealing anything but I'm just curious to see what you guys think :D**

 **As always thank you everyone for reviewing and reading! It always makes me happy to know that you guys aren't sick of me yet!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you! And yes I will be finishing this to Season 5!

 **Guest** **64** \- Thank you! Yes Kolya the pain in the ass figured it out, hopefully he doesn't use it against them...lol. Trouble follows Mia like a second skin, just saying haha

 **parmakai66** \- I know! I was worried that everyone was like, oh no she's stopped updating. Wasn't my fault! Yes Mia is maturing a whole lot being out in Pegasus! Teyla's a smart girl but I don't knowwww. I'm not revealing anything haha! Yep when Ford's little accident happens i'll tell you that it's a tear jerker for me writing it. Man, a lot of stuff happens with Ronon but my lips are sealed, get excited though!

Cough, yes about Mia's rank and age, I may have fudged most of the details and it's not entirely accurate, but it's fan fiction so I can get away with it. So from doing all my research before staring the story I think on the Atlantis Wikia I worked it out being that John was 33-34 at the start of the series. Mia is actually 25-26 in this first season and I know that she needs to have more time in the Army but I made her more interesting by making her a smarty pants that got promoted very quickly. I was actually thinking about doing a whole chapter explaining about the great things that she's done to earn her Major so young, still thinking about it! But yeah hopefully it doesn't make it too non believable she has done nine years of service so...hahahaha *Nervous laugh*

Man M stories made me so upset, cause some of them are really good and not many people find them because they don't think to look there! I used to have a story that was M up on here and I was wondering why I was never getting any views or reads and then when I even tried to find it I couldn't because I had no idea about the section! So my story will stay T with individual chapter being converted to M when the need arises. (Get it...arises...Sorry I'm really tired)

 **Thank you everyone!**


	22. Genesis - Chapter 22

**Hi guys! Hope you all had a fabulous week like I did. Can I just say that we are 6 reviews of 100! Oh my lord I never though that it would happen with this story, I was just thankful with 1! Thank you all so much and enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

When I woke up in the morning I was alone. I rolled over in bed and saw that on the bedside table was a hastily scribbled note in horrible handwriting I recognized as John's.

 _'Gone Mainland, be back later.'_

I frowned as I took the covers off me, why wouldn't he wake me for that? Why didn't he ask me if I wanted to go? That was weird. As I sat on his bed I suddenly realized that I didn't have anything to change into and it was well past seven, people would be up and walking around the base. I couldn't exactly go walking around in my pajamas, people would stare and come to assumptions that I just did the nasty with someone.

"Shit." I muttered. I went over to John's draws as I started rummaging through them trying to find something to wear. To my relief I found a pair of sweatpants that had a drawstring. I quickly changed into them and folded up my pajamas and tucked them into the sweatpants and covered them with the plain white singlet I had on. I'd probably still get stares but at least I looked like I was going to the gym or something. I left John's room, after looking around for anyone first, when I saw that the coast was clear I hurried out and walked at a leisurely pace back to my room. I walked by quite a few people, mostly scientists who had just woken up and didn't function until they had had about five cups of coffee so no one thought it was strange to see me walking around not in uniform or looking like someone had just pulled me through a bush.

After I had changed into something more appropriate for the day I went in search of Ford. I was bored and seeing as John was on the Mainland I thought we could spar together, we hadn't done it in so long. I got to his room and knocked for a long while but he never answered. He must've been out. So my next resort was Teyla, I detoured and walked a little further into the city and reached her room. I knocked but Teyla didn't answer, I sighed in annoyance. They must be getting breakfast or something, so now my next stop was the mess hall. I arrived and scanned the room but I didn't see any sign of Teyla or Ford. Next I tried the gym, armory, and control room and yet they weren't anywhere. My final resort was to go and annoy Rodney. With the Wraith on their way Rodney had been spending most of his time in his lab trying to come up with ways to save us.

"Finally!" I exclaimed in relief when I found at least one member of my team. Rodney looked up at me with a frown. "I've been looking all over for someone but I cant find anyone," I said in annoyance as I came and sat next to him. He moved the screen away from my view as I gave him a blank look.

"I'm working on something," he said grumpily as I rolled my eyes.

"Do you know where everyone is?"

"Went to the Mainland," Rodney said absentmindedly as I frowned.

"What? Why didn't they ask me to go?" Rodney shrugged as I dropped my head down on the desk and groaned.

* * *

Today was the most boring day I have ever had on this base. I annoyed Rodney for an hour before he finally got sick of me and made me leave. In the end I went to the gym and worked out by myself for a few hours and then spent the rest of my day in my room going over some Ancient databases. When it was almost dinnertime I went up to the control room and found Peter at the controls.

"Hey," I said to him as I reached him. Peter looked over at me.

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?" He asked me. I leaned on the console.

"I was wondering if Major Sheppard had returned from the Mainland yet?" I asked him as I pretended to not be really interested.

"They got back a few hours ago," Peter said as he went back to pressing some controls.

"They did?" I said in surprise. Peter 'hmmed' at me as I frowned. "Ok, thanks." I grumbled as I left the control room and headed towards Teyla's room. I knocked on her door as I waited a few seconds until she opened the door. She looked surprised to see me.

"Mia!" She said in slight shock. "I was not expecting you," she said. I quirked an eyebrow.

"You guys all went to the Mainland without me and you're asking why I am coming to see you?" I asked, annoyed. Teyla bit the bottom of her lip.

"I am sorry, but it was a very sudden trip. Next time I will make sure that you are with us." She said with a smile. She started to back away into her room.

"Wait," I said as she stopped. "I thought maybe we could hang out for a bit, I've been bored all day." I said, slightly whining.

"I was actually going to get some sleep. I haven't been sleeping well the last few nights and need some good rest." She said with a sad smile. I nodded.

"Oh, sure. That's ok." I said, trying not to let the hurt I felt come through.

"Tomorrow I will definitely spend the day with you," she said with a nod. I waved at her goodnight as I turned on my heel and sulked away. I heard her door slide shut behind me as I sighed and headed back to my own quarters. I wasn't hungry anymore and all I wanted to do was sleep. I felt like a child, sulking because I had been left out of going on a trip. I needed to man up, who cares? The Mainland is the Mainland. But it just annoyed me that they all went without asking. Teyla had said it was sudden, but John was with me in the morning, he could've said something to me. I opened my door as I slipped my shoes off and changed into my pajamas and then crashed on my bed. It took me a while to fall asleep but eventually I did.

* * *

I woke up in the morning still grumpy; my mood followed me through the night. I laid in bed for the longest time until something forced me to turn and look at my bedside clock. It was a solar powered clock, and the date was still set to Earth's date as I felt my eye's widen in shock.

"It's my birthday." I said in surprise. I blinked a few times to make sure I was reading it correctly. And sure enough, it was ten past ten on the second of November. I was officially twenty-six. I couldn't believe how fast it had crept up on me, it just felt like yesterday that John was teasing me in the jumper about it. I finally got out of bed as I showered and changed into my civvies. A pair of ripped jeans and a baggy shirt. I brushed the tangles out of my hair as I could hear a buzzing coming from somewhere in my room. I spotted my radio as I walked over to it as the buzzing got louder. Someone was trying to hail me. I hooked it over my ear and pressed it.

"Sumner." I said into it.

" _Well it's about damn time! Do you have any idea how long I've been hailing you for?_ " Rodney's shrill voice yelled into my ear. I winced.

"A couple of minutes?" I said sarcastically.

" _A couple of minutes! Try half a bloody hour!_ " I laughed at his obvious annoyance.

"What do you want, Rodney?" I asked him, still laughing.

" _I need to see you up in my lab, it's important._ " He said.

"Why?" I questioned him. I heard him sigh into the radio deeply.

" _Because I said so!_ "

"Why?"

"J _ust get up here!_ " He shrieked into the radio as it went dead. I laughed to myself and I slipped on my shoes and headed on over to his lab. It was a nice stroll towards Rodney's lab and it was a beautiful day for my birthday, the sun was out and it seemed that all of the personnel were taking advantage of this before the Wraith came and killed us all. Well that just ruined my day.

I came up to Rodney's lab as the door opened for me as I stepped into his lab. I glanced around; he wasn't even here the dick.

"Rodney?" I called out, walking a little further into his lab.

"Surprise!" a collection of voices called out as I saw Ford jump up from behind Rodney's table. Teyla and John stood up normally as Rodney was being dragged up by Ford.

"What the hell?" I said in complete shock.

"Happy Birthday, Mia!" Ford yelled as he ran around the table and bear hugged me as he spun me around in the air a few times. He set me down as I looked around at them all, dumbfounded.

"You all remembered?" I asked them. They all nodded, well, except Rodney. I felt myself grin. Teyla walked up to me.

"I am sorry the way we all acted yesterday, we had to go to the Mainland for these," she said as she pointed to the edge of the table, I hadn't noticed but there were three wrapped gifts.

"Are they for me?" I asked her giddily. She grinned and nodded. I couldn't believe it, what the hell had just happened? Here I was thinking they were all ignoring me when really they had gone to get me presents for my birthday. I looked around and all of them, my gaze lingering that extra second on John as he smirked at me with his arms crossed.

"Open mine first!" Ford said to me as he pulled me over to the table and thrust a thin and long gift into my hands. It was wrapped in simple brown paper as I tore it open. In my hands was a lovely carved box, obviously made from the Athosian's. It had beautiful carved flowers over the lid. "Open it," Ford said, grinning like a child. I smirked at him as I opened up the box and gasped. Inside was a dagger; it was beautifully made with a wooden hilt with the same flower carvings from the box.

"Nothing says friendship like a pointy knife." Rodney said sarcastically. I laughed it off and hugged Ford.

"Thank you, it's beautiful." I said to him.

"Mine next," Teyla said with a cheeky smile. I grinned at her as I opened up her rather small gift. In my hand fell out a leather bracelet, woven together. It was beautifully made as I ran my fingers over the different leathers.

"Thank you, it's lovely." I said to her as she helped me put it on. I looked at the last gift, it was square and as I lifted it up it was quite heavy.

"That's mine," Rodney said as I felt my eyebrows shoot up into my hairline.

"McKay? You got me a present?" I said as he rolled his eyes and motioned for me to get on with it. I opened it up and I frowned in slight confusion when I saw one of the data tablets in my hand.

"Uh, thanks?" I said uncertainly as Rodney rolled his eyes again.

"It's been uploaded with all of the Ancient database that we have. I know you've been logging into the database sometimes so I put together a sort of book for you. So you can, uh, learn stuff in the correct order." Rodney said as he pointed at the tablet. I opened it up as my eyes widened as I saw an index that had over thirty categories of information about the Ancients. "It ranges from uh, their bio-chemistry to their work on ascension. Some of my guys haven't even gone through half of this stuff so if you find something worthwhile, don't keep it to yourself." I felt my jaw drop.

"Rodney…" I said, trialing off as I scrolled through the index. "This is really thoughtful, thank you." I said. I saw him splutter, he probably hadn't expected me to say that.

"Well, uh, y-your welcome." He said, smiling to himself. I reached out and hugged him around the shoulder with one arm as I turned to Teyla and Ford.

"Thank you all, these are wonderful gifts." I looked over my shoulder at John. He smirked at me.

"Mine got lost in the mail," John said as myself, Teyla and Ford cracked up laughing.

* * *

The rest of the day, Ford, Teyla and myself spent doing anything that I wanted to do. We went and had lunch together and then we went to the gym and sparred together for a few hours. And then we flew on over to the Mainland where Teyla taught us both how to track and hunt wild animals in the forest outside of the settlement. We returned to Atlantis just as the sun was setting as we headed over to the mess hall for dinner. Ford, Teyla and myself got a table in one of the corners of the room as we sat down and chatted. After dinner Ford went and snagged us some desert from the kitchen that was only for special occasions, he deemed my birthday a special occasion as we dug into the mango cheesecake.

"Evening," a voice said as the three of us turned around to see Elizabeth standing there with a smirk. "How's the cake?" She asked us. I looked to Ford and Teyla as Ford offered Elizabeth a slice.

"Would you like some, ma'am?" He asked her as Elizabeth smiled and took the plate from his hand.

"Thank you. And happy birthday, Lieutenant." She said as I swallowed my cheesecake quickly.

"Thank you, ma'am." I said with a nod as Elizabeth sat down across from the three of us.

I returned to my room after dinner, it was really nice to have Elizabeth with us, she never really interacted with us outside of her office, especially now with the Wraith on their way. So it was lovely to see her laughing and joking around with the three of us. As I returned to my room, I had every intention of sitting down with Rodney's data pad that he had given me and just read until I fell asleep. But I was secretly hoping that John would be there, waiting for me. I opened my door as the lights came on dimly, I felt my stomach drop when I looked around and he wasn't here. I sighed as I walked to my bed and sat down on it. Something to my left caught my eye as I glanced over at it. There was a small piece of paper on my pillow as I reached for it. I unfolded it as I read it.

 _'South pier at eleven, dress nice.'_

I felt a large smile creep over my face as I fell back onto the bed as I held the paper to my heart. For the next few hours I went through the data pad the Rodney had given me, it was truly fascinating. When it was nearing ten pm I started to get ready for my night. I took a quick shower and then went to my draws and tried to find something 'nice' to wear. I didn't exactly come prepared to this galaxy with a range of dresses. I picked out the only dress I had which was a short black dress with a round neckline and three quarter sleeves. I didn't even own a pair of heels so I settled for a pair of strappy sandals, which had been a last minute decision back on Earth. I let my hair air dry, as I knew it would go wavy which I liked. With myself looking presentable I looked at the time and saw it was ten thirty, it would take me nearly forty minutes to walk there so I headed off.

* * *

I knew I was going to be late, and it was something that John would tease me about relentlessly. I always arrived late to everything. I was coming up to the door to the South pier as I waved my hand over the sensor as the door slid open and I stepped out into the cool night. I gazed around the pier in awe; a dozen candles were placed around the pier. And down by the railing was a large picnic blanket with a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. John stood off to the side of the blanket with his hands behind his back. He was dressed in a light blue button down and crème dress pants. When I met his gaze he grinned at me.

"Happy birthday," he said to me as I walked further out to him. He held out his hand as I took it as he pulled me to him. I was flush against his chest. I took another look around at the pier. The candles flickered in the breeze.

"I never knew you were such a romantic," I said to him as he chuckled.

"I'm not. But you deserve it." He said, which made me blush. He then bent down and poured the two glasses of what I know saw was champagne. I sat down on the blanket next to him.

"Where did you find that?" I asked him as he handed me one of the glasses.

"It was left over from the bottle General O'Neill gave us, might as well put it to good use." He said as he took a sip, I grinned and drank the wine. John sat down as he leaned in close to me as I leant my head on his shoulder as we both gazed out to the pitch-black water. I could hear the sound of the waves crashing against the city as it almost lulled me to sleep. That was until John moved and fished something out from his pocket. He handed me a little wrapped up gift in the same brown paper from my other gifts. "Your present." He said as I smiled as I opened up the gift. A necklace fell into my hand as I admired it. It was leather bound, and set in the middle was a blue gemstone. "Some Athosian's found stones like these in the caves on the mainland."

"It's beautiful, thank you." I said to him as I pecked him on the cheek. He took it from my hands as I turned my body so that my back was facing him. I swept my hair away as he put the necklace around my neck and tied it up. It hung just in the hollow of my neck as I reached up and admired the stone again. We finished off the wine as I felt it start to go to my head as John grasped my hands and stood us up.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, he held up his finger as he walked over to the side and pulled out a data pad from underneath another blanket I had failed to spot. He pressed a few buttons on the pad and then I could hear music coming from it. "Where on Earth did you get this music from?" I asked him as he moved back to me and pulled me to him. He held my left hand up in the air as his other hand settled on my waist. My right hand came to rest on his shoulder as he started to make us dance to the music.

"I snagged Rodney's data pad."

"Never knew Rodney was into Savage Garden." I said with a chuckle as John dipped me down. I laughed as he pressed a kiss to my lips; he pulled me back up as we swayed to the music. "And when did you learn to dance?" I asked him, slightly shocked as he spun me around in a circle.

"The perks of living in high society when I was a kid." He said with a chuckle as I moved my arms around his neck. His hands moved down to my waist as I laid my head on his chest.

"Thank you," I said to him. "This has been one of the best birthday's I've had in a long time." I said as I sighed. John leant his head down on the top of mine as we continued to dance to the music. We went through a couple of songs before John spun me around suddenly as I giggled, he spun me back to him as his chest was pressed against my back. His arms circled my stomach as he pressed a kiss to my neck. I moved around in his arms so that I was facing him once more. He brushed his fingers over my cheek as his hand went to my neck as he tilted my head up so that he could lean down and kiss me. The familiar warmth spread through my body when he kissed me. I ran my fingers through his hair as I felt his hand trail down my back as he pulled me closer to him. I felt him bite down on my bottom lip gently as his hand moved lower to my ass as he squeezed. I pulled away from him.

"Shouldn't we go back to my room to do this?" I asked him with a sultry tone as he reached into his pocket and brought out one of the small life signs detector.

"That's what this is for." He said as he dropped it down on the blanket. I grinned at him as he pulled me back to him. He kissed me with a lot more passion this time as his hand went to my zipper on the back of my dress as he pulled it down, I felt the cool air hit my back as I shivered. He peeled away the dress from my shoulders and arms, our lips never breaking their connection as the dress drops at my feet and I'm stood in my black lingerie. John pulls away from me as his eyes gaze down my body and then back up. "So beautiful," he mumbled as he planted kisses along my neck. He travelled down as he kissed the top of my breast as both of his hands grazed over my naked flesh, causing me to shiver from his touch. My hands went to the front of his shirt as I began to undo the buttons of his shirt. It took me a while to get it open as I pushed it off his shoulders as he let it drop to the floor. He then kissed me on the mouth again, our tongues dancing together as he hands went to the back of my thighs as I hooked one leg around his waist and then he hoisted me up so that both legs were wrapped around him. I pressed myself as close to him as I could get, our naked chests touching as his hands moved to cup my ass as he walked to the blanket. Our kiss never broke as he bent down and laid me gently on the blanket. He pulled away from me and gave me a cheeky smile as he removed the rest of our clothing.

* * *

A few days later we were all called to the conference room, a horde of scientists and military were jam packed into the small room as I took my seat next to John and Ford on the other side of me. The scientists congregated at the back of the room with Rodney and Zelenka seated at the head. Teyla came in and I noticed that she had some rather large bags under her eyes. She took her seat next to Ford.

"According to Dr. Zelenka's calculations, we have less then one week before the Wraith arrive. I want options." Elizabeth said to the whole group.

"You mean, besides crying ourselves to sleep," Rodney said sarcastically. Zelenka give him a blank look as Rodney frowns, "Well, not me! I haven't slept in days."

"And what do you have to shoe for your sleepless nights, Rodney?" Elizabeth asked him.

"Well, since we've got here, we've uncovered a number of defensive weapons systems beyond the shield."

"We think our best option is the control chair," Zelenka cut in.

"I was going to say that," Rodney said childishly as he glared at Zelenka.

"Yes, but you were taking too long, as usual."

"The point is, this may not be our best chance," Rodney said to him.

"Name a better one," Zelenka retorted.

"Gentlemen!" Elizabeth cut in. Rodney turned to look at her.

"Of course, like the shield, power will be our biggest problem," he said to her.

"We haven't even been able to initialize the chair yet, much less determine whether we can meet the power requirements to run it." Zelenka said.

"Ok, keep me posted," Elizabeth said, she then turned to Bates, "Sergeant Bates: where are we with our Alpha site?" Bates sat up straighter in his chair.

"We've completed the ground and aerial security sweep and are ready to begin establishing base camp. We're just awaiting final inspection by Major Sheppard."

"Right after lunch," John said from beside me.

"Good. Teyla are the Athosian's getting prepared for an evacuation?" Elizabeth asked her.

"Yes—but many believe there is no other world that is safe from the Wraith," Teyla said.

"They want to stay?" Elizabeth asked with surprise.

"As we have heard from our allies and seen ourselves, there are culling's happening all over the galaxy. My people have spent their lives hiding from the Wraith."

"Yes, well, the difference here being we do intend to destroy the city rather then let it fall into the hands of the Wraith—and if it comes to that, anyone left on the Mainland will be cut off from the Stargate for good. Now thanks to Rodney's discovery of the Gate's control crystal we at least know we'll be able to take that with us and hopefully use it to access Earth again some time in the future."

"We understand that, Dr. Weir." Teyla snapped. I turned my head to look at Teyla with a confused look, what the hell was her problem today?

"I'm sorry, wh—"

"I am merely saying the people of Athos wish you to know that if we are going to stay and fight, they too will help defend the city of the Ancestors." Teyla interrupted Elizabeth as I knew I wasn't the only person to think that there was something off with Teyla today, she never snapped at anyone, least of all Elizabeth.

"Well, that is very honorable, but I—" she was interrupted again, this time not by Teyla but by one of the most annoying people I had ever met.

"Oh, please!" Kavanagh said as I groaned and rolled my eyes, "We can't possibly consider staying and fighting!"

"I disagree," John said. "I think it's entirely within the realm of possibility."

"There are tens of thousands of life-sucking aliens in highly advanced spaceships on their way to destroy us, and we have, what? Two hundred people, most of whom are scientists who've never even fired a gun before." Kavanagh said to all of us, I looked around the room and saw people agreeing with him.

"Shockingly, first time I've ever found myself having to agree with Kavanagh," Rodney said in disappointment.

"All I'm saying is, let's not give up, just yet." John said to Rodney and Kavanagh.

"Now what was that we were supposed to all remember? It was something important…oh yes, that's right—the Alamo!" Rodney said sarcastically.

"Granted you guys are scientists. No one's considering putting you guys on the front line, but science can turn the tide of war. Look at the…A bomb." John said, trying to reassure them.

"Not exactly our proudest moment," Zelenka muttered under his breath.

"The fact is, the Wraith aren't quite here yet, and until that moment I would like everyone to remain focused on what it is they do best. Like I said off the top, if there are any options, I want them. That's all." Elizabeth said as she rose from her chair and left the room. The rest of us slowly moved out.

After lunch myself, John and Ford were going to the Alpha site to check it out. I hadn't seen it yet so I was pretty excited to see what it looked like. Teyla hadn't arrived yet but I had spoken to John and he had said that he was going to ask Teyla to sit this mission out. Apparently she hasn't been sleeping very well and it was the reason why she was so snappy in today's meeting. I saw Teyla approach the control room as she stopped John, I saw then conversing as I turned my back and walked over to Ford. He was examining some of the gear as I pretended to be interested in the gear as well. I couldn't hear what Teyla and John were talking about but from my angle I could see that Teyla had a storm in her eyes and she looked like she was about to shoot him in the foot. Finally she walked away as John walked over to us and signaled for the technician to dial up the gate, he turned to me as I looked away quickly, trying not to seem like I had been trying to hear what he and Teyla had been talking about.

"Where'd you get that from?" I heard Ford ask me. I turned to look at him as he pointed at my necklace that John had given me.

"Oh, just something I had lying around," I said with a shrug. Ford nodded as the gate dialed and we all walked through it.

* * *

The planet that was our Alpha site was a nice planet; it had a lot of trees for coverage and the soil was very fertile for crops. The site was a few clicks away in the forest so we headed that way. John and Ford walked together while I hung back with a few of the Marines and the gear, the path was clearly marked for us as we walked for twenty minutes before seeing the site. There was a decent sized clearing with all of the tents set up. There were some scientists walking around and Marines patrolling. Overall it looked like a nice place for us to come to should the Wraith succeed with their plan. John went off with Sargent Bates to complete his clearance as I wondered around the camp. There were designated places for sleeping, eating and a leisure tent, which had some basic gym equipment. I spotted some familiar faces, Nathan Fields and Chris Porter, it seemed they had both been assigned here. They were both coming out of the tent that was the makeshift mess hall when they spotted me.

"Hey, Sumner!" Chris said to me as he waved as they both walked up to me. Nathan waved at me.

"Hi," I said to them both.

"You here with the Major?" Chris asked me.

"Yeah, he's doing the check over for the site." I said to him.

"Liking it so far?" Nathan asked me. I looked around the site once more.

"It's homie I guess. Can't beat the view back on Atlantis though." I said jokingly as both men agreed with me.

"No sea breeze unfortunately, and the sleeping cots are a bit on the cramped side what with so many in one place." Nathan explained as I pulled a face.

"Might even have to double up," Chris said as I saw a sly look come over his face. "Though I doubt Nathan here wouldn't have a problem with that." Nathan elbowed Chris in the ribs as I laughed awkwardly. I had a funny feeling that Chris had directed that jab at Nathan and I. I brushed it off though.

"Well put me in the bed furthest away from McKay," I said with a laugh as Chris chuckled. I noticed that Nathan had lost his usual spark that he had when we talked. And I started to wonder if he had feelings for me.

"Lieutenant!" I heard a familiar voice call out as I turned around. I saw John walking towards me as Nathan and Chris saluted him. "We're going to do a perimeter check, let's go." John said as Chris and Nathan took it as their cue to leave.

"See you later, Sumner," Chris said to me as he waved and walked off.

"Bye, Mia," Nathan said as he smiled and hurried off after Chris. I turned back to John as he was watching Nathan with hawk like eyes. I smacked him on the arm lightly as he glanced down at me.

"If you keep glaring, you're going to get wrinkles." I said teasingly as he rolled his eyes at me.

"That boy likes you." He grumbled out as we headed off into the woods surrounding the encampment.

"Yeah we're planning to elope together," I said flippantly as we walked a bit further into the woods then we were meant to.

"Very funny," John said sarcastically. I decided to see how far I could take it.

"No really, we've already planned our escape route, I've picked out my dress and he's going to steal a jumper and fly us far off into the galaxy," I said overdramatically as I was grinning. John rolled his eyes at me.

"He's so dreamy," I said, clasping my hands together and sighing. John narrows his eyes at me as I tried to hold in my laughter. Finally he was the one who cracked as he smirked at me as I nudged his arm gently. "You have nothing to worry about. Nathan just needs to know that I'm unavailable." I said.

"Well I can't exactly go up to him and threaten him, can I?" John said grumpily as he threw his arm around my shoulder. I did a quick look around the trees, hoping that no one was out here. We had walked quiet a fair distance away from the site but I still had anxiety about it. "Or maybe I can," John said as he tapped his chin. I shook my head.

"You can't. You can't jeopardize this over a silly boy." I told him as he sighed. He held me tighter as he pressed a kiss to my temple.

"If he ever tries anything—"

"I've already kicked his ass once, I don't think he'd try anything without risking another broken nose." I said as John laughed.

"And this is why you're my girlfriend." He said as I grinned up at him.

* * *

We headed back to Atlantis after we had done one lap of the camp. We met up with Ford after he had finished with Bates and his procedures on the security or whatever John made him do so that we were able to be alone. John gave the site the all clear as he went to Elizabeth to tell her about the site. I decided that I would go and see Teyla to see how she was, I knew that she would be pissed about having to be left behind and John outing her to Heightmeyer. I had actually been forced to see her as well when we first got here after dad's death. I had only seen her a handful of times before I got sick of her and her preppy attitude and decided to skip out on the rest of my sessions. I got an earful from Elizabeth from that but I had convinced her and Carson that I was fine. I knew how to handle things like that.

I found Teyla leaving her room.

"Teyla!" I called out to her as she stopped walking and turned. Now that I was seeing her up close I could see the dark bags under her eyes and how exhausted she looked. "Hey, I wanted to see how you are, I know that you haven't been sleeping well." I said to her, Teyla looked slightly uncomfortable but she smiled.

"It seems half the base now knows of my nightmares," she grumbled slightly under her breath. "Thank you for coming to see me. Would you like to grab dinner with me?" Teyla asked me as I nodded.

"Sure." I said as we headed over to the mess hall.

* * *

"You've been dreaming about the Wraith?" I asked Teyla in concern after she had explained why she hadn't been sleeping well.

"With so many all in one place and heading for us, my senses of them feel…overworked. It's like having a permanent knot in my stomach, and I keep dreaming about being fed upon by one of them." She said as she picked at her food.

"It's your subconscious freaking you out. When I got into a car crash a few years ago I used to have nightmares all the time," I said, skimming over the fact that the car crash had caused the death of my boyfriend. "They would feel so real that when I was dreaming it actually felt like I was driving and reliving the crash all over again." I saw sympathy flash over Teyla's face.

"How did you stop the nightmares?" She asked me. I shrugged.

"It took time. I spoke to a therapist. Even though I hate therapists sometimes it can help, so don't be negative towards Heightmeyer." I watched as Teyla opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. I had a feeling that she wasn't too keen on the idea of talking to someone about her problems.

"I am trying not to be, she just seems—"

"Really pushy, she likes to pick out the things that make you tick." I said as Teyla gave me a look. I shrugged again.

"Elizabeth made me see her after dad died. Trust me, I know what she's like." I said jokingly as Teyla laughed. She finished her dinner.

"Thank you for spending time with me. Hopefully I should be able to get some sleep tonight." I waved at her as she took her tray away.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite!" I called out to her retreating back, she looked over her shoulder at me and grinned.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed guys! Thank you everyone for being so supportive!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Guest 64 -** Thank you! Yes they are aren't they, we'll just have to see won't we. We did see another bit of John's softer side which I adore immensely and those two scene that you can't wait for are pretty intense if I do say so myself!

 **Adela -** Thank you and you're welcome! Any questions feel free to ask, and he's a bit pushy our John about family, but it all worked out in the end.

 **AmandaSLaurygma -** Yes Kolya is one of my favourites as it's never a dull episode with him around! haha. Don't get me wrong he was an asshole and a dick and I was happy to see him dead but he was just an amazing character to have be a villain on the show and in this story!

 **Thank you everyone! Maybe by next week we'll hit 100 reviews? Thank you for all your support, without all of you this story would not be how it is today!**


	23. Genesis - Chapter 23

**Hi guys! Oh my god I can't believe it, we've reached 101 reviews at this exact time! I'm so thankful for everyone who took time out of their day's and nights to read this story and leave such wonderful comments, it drives me to write more and more. Thank you all again and I hope you enjoy you this chapter. We have some major development for our favourite couple. And for random knowledge, there is about seven more chapters left for season 1, as for season 2 i'm not quite finished with it yet as I'm splitting time with my college and writing two stories right now. I'm neglecting the other one right now as I'm trying to get season 2 done. But i'll let you all know where I am when we get to the end of this season.**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

"She's what?" I exclaimed.

"You're saying Teyla's part Wraith?" John said from beside me. Ford was on the other side of me and Rodney next to him. Elizabeth and Carson had called us into the conference room and had just told us that Teyla had Wraith DNA in her.

"A very small part," Carson said. Elizabeth look to John and then to me.

"Which makes her about as different from us as you and Mia are, because of the Ancient gene you both possess." She said.

"Well, and some other things!" Rodney exclaimed as I turned to give him a look.

"Still, Bates is going to go nuts over this." Ford said as I frowned. I knew that I would defend Teyla from anyone who tried to say anything bad about her because of this.

"Let's just keep this one under our hat," John said and I saw that everyone agreed.

"Well, obviously Teyla's very concerned about how everyone will react." Elizabeth said.

"So you think this Wraith scientist was trying to make humans what? More tasty?" Rodney said with disgust.

"The log seems to indicate that he was looking for a way to make the feeding process more efficient," Elizabeth said hesitantly as I grimaced.

"But I thought you already said they had a number of genetic characteristics similar to humans." Rodney said.

"They do," Carson explained, "but they're still much closer to the bug creature that attacked Major Sheppard than to us."

"Hey! I thought we weren't going to mention that any more," John said as I snorted and I heard Ford chuckled quietly.

"Sorry," Carson said in his cute little Scottish accent.

"Also interesting is the fact that the Wraith language appears to be a derivative of Ancient, which seems to suggest that the Wraith evolved after the Ancients arrived in Pegasus." Elizabeth said which made my eyebrows rise in shock. Well that was new.

"My theory is that the Ancients unwittingly allowed humans to evolve on a planet with," Carson sent John and apologetic look, "the uh, insect species on it. At some point the insects fed on humans and somehow incorporated our DNA into theirs. The Wraith are an evolution of that combination." Carson said.

"That's disgusting," I muttered, a shiver going up my spine.

"So what you're saying is the Ancient's actually created the Wraith?" Ford said in disbelief.

"By accident," Carson corrected him.

"Or negligence," Rodney retorted.

"Well, either way, it doesn't matter." Elizabeth said.

"Ultimately, the more we know about Wraith physiology, the closer we get to a biological weapon that can attack the Wraith and leave humans unharmed." Carson said.

"Yes, but for the moment all we know is that the Ancients might have accidently created the Wraith," Rodney said, "and why Teyla can sense them coming. I mean, fabulous mystery solved, but neither of which can help in any way stop them from coming." Rodney pointed out, and I had to agree with him. I heard Elizabeth sigh.

"Rodney's right. Let's get back to work." She said.

* * *

We were all dismissed after that. I was going to head over to Teyla's room and talk to her about everything that I had just found out. I knew that she was going to be fearful of everyone's judgment about her, but she needed to know that I didn't care about that. "Hey!" I heard a familiar voice call out as I turned to look over my shoulder. John was jogging up to me as he stopped before me. "You going to see Teyla?" He asked me as I nodded.

"Yeah, I want to make sure that she's ok." I said to him. John nodded.

"That's good." He said as he paused, he looked like he wanted to say something more. "Look, with everything that's going on, I want you to know—"

"Major!" Rodney interrupted him as he came walking towards us. I saw John look annoyed as he looked over his shoulder.

"What McKay?" He snapped. Rodney didn't seem fazed by his tone as he stood beside me.

"I need you to come test the chair now."

"Now?" John whined.

"Yes, now." He snapped, "Do you want to be Wraith chow?" Rodney said sarcastically as John sighed.

"Ok, fine." John said as he followed Rodney down the corridor. Before he turned to corner he glanced over his shoulder at me, he didn't smile but I did see worry flash across his face. It made me wonder about what he wanted to tell me. I know he was worried about the Wraith. We only had a couple more days until they got here; I think I was in denial. I knew that they were coming but I didn't want to believe it, I wanted to believe that we would get out of this but the chances of that were dwindling down by the hour. I rubbed my forehead, I didn't want to think about this now, right now I needed to go find Teyla and talk to her about her Wraith DNA.

I went to her room but she wasn't there, so next I went to Heightmeyer's office, I was hoping that she would be here. When I got there the door was locked so I leant against the wall next to it and slid down until I hit the floor. I don't know how long I waited for until the door opened and I jumped up. Teyla walked out of the room and saw me, she looked surprised to see me.

"Mia, I didn't—" I cut her off as I dived into her and gave her a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly. I heard her chuckle.

"It doesn't matter to me, I want you to know that. You're still the same badass Athosian who kicks my ass at sparring." I said as I pulled away from her. I could see that her eyes were watering. "If anything it means that you're basically cheating when you fight." I said as she grinned and wiped her eyes. "No wonder you kick my ass, but rest assured I will just have to train harder." I said as I reached out and rubbed her arm.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "You don't know what it means for me to hear that." She said as I hugged her once more. This time she hugged me back. We walked back to our quarters as we said goodbye to each other as I went to my own room and flopped down on my bed. I felt myself dozing off for a nap and I welcomed it.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on my door, I rubbed my eyes as I looked at my clock and saw it was five in the afternoon. I'd slept for a few hours. The knocking continued as I stretched and stood up from my bed and walked over to my door. I waved my hand over the sensor as it opened, as I was surprised to see John standing there.

"Hey," I said, my voice was hoarse from just waking up.

"Hi." He replied. I stepped to the side as he walked into my room. The door shut as I turned to face him.

"What's up?" I asked him. John sighed and ran a hand through his hair. I could tell that something had him worried. I wondered if this was about earlier today, with whatever he wanted to tell me.

"Teyla can connect to the Wraith." He said as I felt my mouth drop open in shock.

"What?"

"They communicate with a telepathic link, and with Teyla's Wraith DNA she can hook into it."

"Isn't that dangerous?" I asked him as he rubbed his face.

"We aren't sure," he said as he walked to my bed and sat down on it. I joined him as I reached out for his hand. "She was seeing what they were seeing. And then one of them began to feed. We cut the connection but she believes that there is something we have to know from them about the attack." I continued to hold his hand in mine. "She wants to try again." He said, I could see the confliction in his eyes as he spoke. I sighed.

"Maybe something good will come out of this bad situation. If she can figure out their attack plan or anything it might give us a fighting chance at this." I said to him as I watched his gaze move over to me. He didn't say anything but he had the same look on his face that he did when he walked away in the corridor. He cleared his throat and the look was gone, and I felt upset that he wasn't going to tell me about what he was feeling.

"Teyla wants you there for the second go." He said as I nodded.

"Of course." I said. I pulled him up from the bed. "Let's get down there." I said to him. I felt him tug on my hand as I stopped and turned back to him. I was about to ask him what was wrong when he pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. My face pressed into his shoulder as I slowly placed my hands around his waist. His chin rested on top of my head as I heard him sigh deeply. I was too scared to ask him about what he was feeling. He had to be worried about the Wraith, it was the only explanation. As we stood there, I wondered if John was holding onto me, or was I holding onto him? Maybe both, I didn't want to admit that in a few days we could both be dead, it was a scary thought. It was ironic how I've had so many people in my life die that the prospect of death didn't scare me that much anymore. But the thing that scared me the most was thinking about John being killed. And that scared me more then anything. John pulled away from me after a few more minutes; I tilted my head to look up at him. He brushed his hand over my cheek as he smirked down at me and pressed a kiss to my lips. I sighed into his touch as he pulled away.

"Let's go." He said.

We arrived at the infirmary as John and I both stepped in. I saw Teyla lying down on one of the beds with wires attached to her. Carson was sitting next to her bed in front of a small control box. I saw Kate Heightmeyer sitting on the bed near Teyla's feet. And standing at the foot of her bed was Elizabeth. When they heard the door open everyone's heads turned to John and I as I felt a little awkward under their stares. I moved around the room and to the other side of Teyla as she smiled at me.

"Thank you for coming," she said to me as I grasped her hand in mine.

"Of course," I said back to her. Kate then asked me to step back so that Teyla could concentrate. She talked Teyla through a sort of Hypnosis as Teyla took a deep breath and shut her eyes. Teyla was silent for a few minutes before she finally spoke.

"I am walking through the ship." She said. I looked around the room at the other people, everyone had stony expressions, I was amazed at the fact that Teyla was literally looking through the mind of a Wraith. "I am in some sort of control room." Teyla sucked in a deep breath as her eyes shoot open. I see Carson move his hands away from the control box, knowing that he didn't wake her up. I look back to Teyla as she looks around the room, her gaze rests on me as I see something that I had never seen before in Teyla's eyes; malice. "You are all so pathetic." A voice comes from Teyla, but, it doesn't sound like Teyla. I step back from the bed nervously.

"Something tells me that's not Teyla talking." John said. Our gazes meet and I can tell that he wants me to get away from the bed but I'm rooted to the spot.

"Nothing can stop us." Teyla says again.

"Wake her up," Elizabeth orders Carson. Carson presses something as Teyla convulses on the bed.

"You are all going to die!" The voice from within Teyla says.

"Now!" Elizabeth shouts as I watch Carson up the current and zap Teyla again. She arches up on the bed, gasping as she flops back down, her eyes clamped shut. I didn't realize that I was holding my breath in anticipation, and it seemed like everyone was doing the same thing. Then Teyla opened her eyes slowly as she looks around the room, she looked completely bewildered about what was going on.

"What happened?" She asked us. I watch Elizabeth excuse herself from the room as John sends me a look and follows after her. I turn my attention back to Teyla as Heightmeyer begins to tell her about what happened.

"The Wraith managed to take control of you, Teyla." Heightmeyer told her as Teyla looked overwhelmed.

"I…I felt it, he was in my mind." Teyla said, her hands clutched her head. Heightmeyer looked at Carson as he nodded.

"We're going to give you a light sedative to relax, Teyla." Heightmeyer said to her. Carson administered the sedative to Teyla as I watched her relax into the bed. "I want you to try and understand everything about this ability you have learned. I need to go and talk to Doctor Weir but if you need me, send for me, ok?" Heightmeyer said as Teyla nodded. Heightmeyer left the room as I took up residence next to Teyla's bed. I could see Teyla's eyes drooping slightly.

"You ok?" I asked her; she rolled her head to look at me and nodded slightly. She then fell into a deep sleep as I sighed and leaned back in my chair. What a day this had turned out to be.

* * *

A few minutes later the alarms started blaring out as I jumped up from my seat and ran out of the infirmary. The infirmary was only a short distance away from the control room so I managed to get here just as the Stargate connected and opened up. I watch as the Marines raise their guns towards the gate as the shield is lowered and John comes running down the stairs. He takes a P-90 from one of the Marines and aims it as I take my sidearm out of my leg holster and stand next to him.

"What's going on?" I asked John.

"Alpha site is under attack." He said as I watch Sergeant Bates come running through the gate. Bates and a Marine I didn't know stand next to John. I had to duck quickly as a Wraith stunner came blasting through the gate and hit the wall behind me. I then see Nathan and Chris come running through the gate.

"That's it, we're clear!" Bates says.

"Raise the shield!" John calls out as the shield raises and the gate shuts down. Everyone lowers their weapons as the Marines who had come through the gate are all catching their breath.

"Is everybody ok?" Elizabeth calls out from above.

"All off world personnel accounted for." Bates said.

"I guess that planet isn't safe anymore," John said in irritation.

"They showed up by ships and dropped some sort of device by the gate as we were leaving." Bates explained.

"I've seen it before—they're tagging the planet." John said.

"If we're going to evacuate Atlantis, we're going to need a new place to go," said Bates. Elizabeth comes down the stairs and joins us.

"That planet was supposed to be uninhabited. What does the Wraith want with it?" She asked in confusion.

"I don't know!" Bates exclaimed, "It's almost like they knew we were there!" John and Elizabeth give each other worried looks as Bates frowns in confusion. I watch as they usher Bates up into the conference room as I follow behind slowly. The three of them go into the room as I stand outside leaning up against it, patiently waiting for the explosion to happen. I didn't have to wait long before I could hear raised voices from inside. I sighed, I knew that Bates would be blaming all of this on Teyla, I'm sure that's what John and Elizabeth were thinking also, but it wasn't technically her fault, she couldn't control what the Wraith took from her mind.

"Are Weir and the Major in there?" Ford asked me as he appeared from the stairs, walking over to me. I pointed my thumb.

"Yeah, in there filling Bates in," I said to him as he headed to the door as it opened for him as I followed Ford inside the room. I caught the last of their conversation.

"Take it easy, Sergeant, it's not like she willfully gave away our position," John ground out to Bates as I stood behind Ford as he stood next to Bates.

"She wants to try again," Ford said as I felt the colour drain from my face. "Look, she says she was getting close to something big, something she's convinced we need to know."

"No, I'm sorry. The problem is, I'm not sure Teyla's thinking what's best for herself." Elizabeth argued.

"Or that she could compromise us further!" Bates said as I glared at the back of his head. I knew that he had never liked Teyla that much, it had been clear to me since before when he accused Teyla of being a spy for the Wraith. That was also when I had threatened to beat him to a pulp and he knew that I could. I saw John look over at me as I met his gaze and he was silently telling me to not go ape shit on Bates.

"At this point, we have more to gain from the Wraith than they do from us." John said.

"She wants to do it," Ford said to Elizabeth, "Fact is, there may not be anything we can do to stop her from trying. So isn't it better if we're all there?" Ford seemed to convince them as Elizabeth sighed and nodded as we all followed her out of the conference room.

* * *

Heightmeyer met us back in the infirmary where Teyla was hooked up once more to Carson's machine. We all stood around Teyla's bed, this time I placed myself next to John as Elizabeth was next to Heightmeyer and Ford was a few feet behind them. "Ok, close your eyes and relax and listen for the voices." Heightmeyer tells Teyla as she takes in a deep breath and shuts her eyes. The tension in this room was so thick I could cut it with a knife, everyone was holding their breaths, I was playing with the ends of my fingers and chewing at my lips as I watched Teyla. Her eyes were darting around under her lids and her breathing was becoming a bit harsher. Suddenly Teyla gasps with her eyes still shut. "Teyla?" Heightmeyer calls out to her as I see Teyla's eyes roll into the back of her head.

"Break the connection." Elizabeth ordered Carson as he pressed the button three times, we waited for it to zap her but nothing happened.

"It's not working." Carson said.

"No!" Teyla screams on the bed as Carson jumps up to help her. He shakes her.

"Teyla!" Teyla's eyes snap open and even from this distance I see the same look I did before when the Wraith had control of her. Her gaze sets on Carson and in a split second she punches him in the face, which sends him flying. She jumps off the bed and grabs the drip stand as she snaps it in half. I take initiative then, as it seems I was the first to recover from the shock of whatever was happening right now. I throw my arms around her shoulders, clamping her arms down. I feel a sharp pain to my mouth as I realized she had thrown her head back into my mouth, as I'm stunned. The next second I feel myself getting thrown into something that smashes into my back. I cry out and hit the floor as I hear something else getting broken.

I hear a Wraith stunner as I manage to pry my eyes open and roll over onto my side to see what was happening. Teyla was on the floor unconscious and I saw Bates standing near the door holding the stunner looking very smug about what he had just done. I rolled over onto my stomach as I used my arms to push myself up but a serious pain shot through my right arm as I collapsed back to the ground. I looked at it and noticed a stream of blood running down my arm.

"Carson?" I called out as I saw John look over at me. His eyes widened a fraction as he ran over to me, Carson hot on his heels. John pulled me up as Carson examined my arm, I heard shards of glass fall to the floor as I stood up as I looked over my shoulder and saw the smashed cabinet that Teyla had thrown me into.

"You've got some glass stuck in your hand and arm. Major bring her to one of the beds here." Carson said as John dragged me along to a bed. Some nurses appeared and began to catch the blood that was flowing down my arms quicker now that I was sitting upright. Carson was pulling on his gloves as I noticed the cut on his cheekbone from Teyla, it obviously wasn't as bad as mine but it did have a small trickle of blood rolling down his cheek. A nurse brought over a dish and tweezers as Carson took them and plucked out a shard of glass.

"Ow!" I cried out in pain. John was still standing close to me as I gripped the bed sheets with my good hand as I felt him dig out another piece. One of the nurses had to pour iodine over the cuts, which made me cry out in pain. Though I was thankful as this didn't hurt as much as getting shot in the stomach did, but that Iodine was on another level of pain.

"There's a big shard stuck in the palm of your hand, it's going to be a douzy getting it out, brace yourself." Carson told me. Now that he had mentioned it I could feel the glass in my palm, I felt the tweezers take ahold of it as it was slowly pulled out.

"Jesus Christ!" I yelled, "Just rip it out, Carson!" I screamed at him as I felt the shard leave my hand as I breathed a sigh of relief. The nurses then began putting butterfly clips on the cuts and wrapping up half of my arm to my hand.

"Twenty-two pieces I got out of your arm." Carson said triumphantly as I scoffed.

"You can thank Teyla for that," I said to him sarcastically as he gripped my chin.

"She hit you in the face?" He asked me as I nodded.

"Head-butted me."

"You'll probably get just some mild swelling, but best to put ice on it when you can." Carson told me. I winced when the nurse began to stitch up my palm, they didn't even bother putting numbing cream on it, they just wanted it closed.

"Least it's not a concussion or a gunshot wound," I said mockingly as Carson laughed. I heard John snigger from behind me.

"No, but you're in here more times than I can count, I should have a bed with your name on it." Carson joked as I rolled my eyes at him. The nurse finished wrapping up my arm as I felt John lay his hand on my shoulder.

"I need to go see Doctor Weir. Get some ice on that face, Lieutenant." John said as I sent him a glare over my shoulder as he grinned at me and walked out of the infirmary. Carson then excused himself, as he had to go and check on Teyla who was still unconscious in the other room.

The nurse told me I was free to go a few minutes later as I walked back towards the control room. I entered the room as I looked up towards the stairs, I could see the forms of John and Elizabeth outside talking together. I also saw Bates walking down the stairs still looking smug. I didn't want to start anything with him right now, but with that stupid grin on his face I couldn't hold back.

"Bet you loved hitting her with the stunner, didn't you?" I snapped at him as Bates smirked.

"Of course. And also having the satisfaction that I was right, once again." He said as he crossed his arms.

"Once again?" I scoffed at him.

"I was right about Teyla alerting the Wraith the first time. And now she's done it again," he said with loathing. I pressed my lips together hard as I balled my fists up. My injured one hurt like hell but it took all of my strength to not hit him in the face. Instead I chose to be the bigger person, I walked halfway up the stairs before I heard Bates speak again.

"Bet we don't have long until she joins them," he called out to me as I halted on the stairs. I turned slowly; I could feel the anger rising within me. In all my life I have never wanted to inflict so much harm onto one person. There were a few guards around us, some were looking at us as they had heard our conversation and were waiting to see what I would do. I stormed down the stairs and stood almost chest-to-chest with Bates. I was smaller then the man but I knew I was more intimidating.

" _Sergeant_ Bates," I said in a condescending tone. My rank was higher than his. "As your superior officer I am ordering you to stand down and remove yourself from my sight before I have you forcefully removed." I snarled at him as he smirked down at me.

"You're only superior to me in rank, nothing else. But I guess you get special treatment if you're screwing the Commanding Officer." He said in a mocking tone. That was my final trigger. I swung my fist at him but he ducked, he rose up and I saw him start to advance towards me but three bodies came flying at us. One hit me as I was pinned to the wall and two Marines held Bates back.

"Get off me!" I yelled as I tried to push the person off me to get to Bates. Bates himself was glaring at me as he tried to throw his Marines off him. "I'm going to break his nose!" I yelled again as John and Elizabeth came running down the stairs. I had no idea if Bates knew about John and I or not, but for him to make a comment like that, even for him it was low, and especially the things he said about Teyla.

"What the hell is going on here?" Elizabeth demanded from both of us. I tried shoving off my Marine again but they made these guys solid.

"She tried to assault me, ma'am!" Bates yelled.

"Bullshit!" I screamed. "Why don't you tell them why we're here, Bates!" I continued as I saw him look away sheepishly. "Or would you like me to repeat the comments you just made about Teyla and your superior officer?" I snapped at him as I saw John look at me in confusion. He shook his head.

"Enough, both of you!" John hollered, looking between us. Bates had resumed his glare on me as I narrowed my eyes at him. "We can't have this petty fighting between us anymore. The Wraith are on their way and we can't be fighting each other otherwise we don't stand a chance in hell!" I stopped fighting as I felt the Marine's hold slacken slightly. I pursed my lips, suddenly feeling like a child getting scolded. "Now I know tensions are a bit high right now. But both of you need to keep your attitudes in check," John said, more to me. "And if either of you are caught fighting again you'll be confined to the brig, understood?" John said firmly.

"Yes, Sir." I said, glaring at Bates once again as he ground his teeth together.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good,' John said. "Now I suggest until you both learn to be in each others' presence you stay away from each other until then." I pulled my arm out of the Marine's grip as I waved him off. I had cooled down now and no longer wanted to pummel Bates but he did still deserve a punch to the nose. I leered at him as I saw everyone tense around me.

"One more word about Teyla or me and you and I are going to have big problems." I growled at him as Bates smirked at me as I spun on my heel and left the control room. I headed straight into my room and changed into my workout gear and grabbed my gloves as I headed straight to the gym. If I couldn't hit anyone on the base then the punching bag will have to do. There was only one other person in the gym, it was a scientist that I knew but didn't talk to. She was doing yoga exercises on the floor as I went to the punching bag and laid out a combo on it. I hissed in pain when I felt the sting of the cuts on my hand and arms from the glass. I ground my teeth together as I hit the bag again, ignoring the burning pain in my arm. I finished my combo with a roundhouse kick which made the bag swing out, it came back as I dodged it and wrapped my arms around the bag and leant on it. I was breathing heavily as I could see my breath on the leather as I wiped the sweat off my forehead and pushed back the pain from my hand. I looked to the side and saw the female scientist leaving the gym as she looked over her shoulder at me as she left. She no doubt thought I was nuts. Maybe I was.

I hit the punching bag a few more times and then to finish off I spun and kicked it with my foot as I hunched over, out of breath. I collapsed back onto the floor as I shut my eyes and spread out my limbs. I lay there for god knows how long before my back started to ache and the sting in my arm finally made me wish I didn't go nuts on the punching bag.

* * *

I returned to my dark room as I headed straight for the shower and stripped off my sweaty clothes and turned on the shower. I pulled my hair out of the bun and then began unwrapping the bandage around my arm. I winced as some of it had stuck to the wounds that had reopened from me overexerting it. I chucked it on the counter as I stepped into the shower and washed.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around my body and dried my hair with another towel and let it hang down my back as I walked to the sink and examined my arm. Most of the butterfly clips had come off but they weren't bleeding anymore. The biggest pain was my palm one, the stitches had come loose and it needed to be redone but I refused to go back to the infirmary.

"Hey." I jumped and looked up into the mirror as I saw John in the reflection leaning on the wall. I held my good hand to my chest.

"Don't scare me like that," I scolded him as I started to search the draws for the spare bandage I knew I had.

"What's wrong?" He asked as I heard him walk closer.

"Nothing," I said sharply. I accidently hit my palm on the side of the counter as I hissed and held it up. John came to me side, he saw my arm and the discarded bandage.

"Jesus, Mia what did you do?" He said, enraged. He took my arm into his.

"I attacked the punching bag." I stated as he glared at me. He sighed and patted the counter.

"Hop up." He ordered as I rolled my eyes.

"I can do it myself."

"Hop up." He said, more firmly this time. I gave in as he helped me jump up onto the counter. "You need Carson to redo these clips and stitches," he said to me, examining my arm.

"No," I said quickly. "I'm not going there again, I have some in here somewhere." I said as John started rifling through my cupboards and draws for the bandages and butterfly clips. He finally found them as he peeled off the disgusting ones that had gone dirty with sweat as I winced as they pinched at my skin. He disinfected them and reapplied the clips. Then came my palm one. It had started to bleed from the stitches being loose but he took two butterfly clips and pinched it together as I hissed in pain as he applied them. The bleeding stopped.

"So what happened with you and Bates?" John asked as he began to wrap my arm with the fresh bandage.

"Nothing, he said some silly things," I grumbled.

"Mia," John said softly, it made me look at his gorgeous hazel eyes. "I've never seen you that mad before, what did he say?" He asked again. I sighed.

"Just some things about Teyla and the Wraith and then about me sleeping around or something," I said. I saw John falter for a second with wrapping my arm.

"What?" He said, his voice more aggressive.

"It's nothing, just ignore him, that's what you told me to do."

"Not when he says that about you!" He said defensively. It made my heart flutter to know that he cared so much.

"He said that I get special treatment because I'm screwing the Commanding Officer," I told him as he froze. "Now you understand why I wanted to break his nose," I said with a smirk as I saw John get overcome with rage. It shocked me as he let out a growl and left the room. I frowned in confusion as I hopped off the counter and followed him into my bedroom. He was pacing in circles, muttering to himself and looking like he wanted to hit something.

"What's wrong?" I asked him hesitantly as I held the towel around my body to stop it from dropping to the floor. John turned to me, and I could see the anger in his eyes.

"I'll tell you what's wrong, everything!" He yelled. I was seriously confused. "I've got that punk Nathan Fields pining after you and now I have Bates insulting you to the point where I want to knock him out myself!" He explained as it suddenly became all so clear to me. "And I can't do a damn thing about it, I've just got to let it roll off my chest and watch you fight these battles that I should be fighting for you. And to top it all off, the Wraith are going to be here any day now and we probably won't last to fight them and I'm going to have to watch you die or get fed on by them." He was still pacing back and forwards as he vented as I stood there and listened. He wasn't scaring me, but it was bringing tears to my eyes hearing about all these pent up emotions. "And guess what else?" He said with a forced laugh. "Ford never shuts up about you, he's always talking about you, about all the things you guys have in common and if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was in love with you and that just means there's another one I have to watch out for!" This knowledge startled me, I didn't know that Ford talked about me to John, and I highly doubted Ford was in love with me, we had been best friends our entire lives, but hearing it from John's mouth, it started to make me wonder. "I'm really considering just telling everyone about us and getting it out in the open because I can't stand having to watch that little shit Nathan flirt with you anymore."

"Stop it!" I said, walking up to him and gripping his shirt to pull him to me. He stumbled into me. I moved my hands up his chest and to his face as I clasped my hands behind his neck. His hazel eyes bore into mine. "None of that matters to me," I said to him. "They can say what they want but it doesn't change how I feel about you." I continued. I saw his expression soften as he brought his hand up and brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. His hand found its way to the back of my head as he pulled me to him. My face pressed into the crook of his neck as his other arm wound itself around my waist.

"You are the only thing that matters to me," John whispered, I knew it probably took a lot for him to say that. "I don't want to see you get hurt and I especially don't want to hear about people badmouthing you."

"I'm a tough girl, I can handle it." I said to him.

"I know. It just drives me insane knowing that I can't do this outside of here. I can't touch you, I can't kiss you and I can't tell people to back off." I smiled as he spoke.

"One day, maybe."

* * *

The next morning we were called to the conference room. I was one of the last to walk in; I glanced around the room. John was sitting near the edge of the table; Ford was next to him, then Carson and Zelenka. There was an empty spot next to Elizabeth, which she motioned for me to take. As I sat down on the other table near Elizabeth sat Bates, we met gazes as I grimaced at him as he scoffed quietly. I felt Elizabeth staring at me as I turned my gaze to her, she was giving me a pointed look as I cleared my throat and looked dead ahead. My eyes were drawn over to John, I watched him as every so often his gaze would go to Bates and he would glare ever so slightly, then he would look away, look at me, then glare at Bates again. It made me laugh. Rodney entered as a few more scientists walked in behind him as he went over to a screen and cleared his throat, asking for our attention.

"Not only has Teyla been able to ascertain that the Wraith are more interested in Earth than Atlantis, which is…you know, terrifying, she realized that the hive ships will go right past the only surviving LaGrange point satellite." Rodney pointed to the screen to where I assumed the satellite was.

"The last of what we assume were dozens of defense satellites destroyed during the Ancient's last stand with the Wraith." Zelenka said. I looked over at Rodney; he was looking annoyed that Zelenka had interrupted him.

"Yes, yes, yes—the point is, we think we can use it to our advantage."

"I thought you said it was dead," John pointed out as Rodney nodded.

"It is, but we think we've learned enough about how it works to bring it back." Rodney said.

"If we are right about what is wrong with it." Zelenka grumbled. Rodney heard him.

"Yes, of course if we're right about what's wrong with it! But if we're right, and it's just out of power, the Wraith have simply been ignoring it."

"Our preliminary estimates indicate that a single naquadah generator would be enough to bring it back online." Zelenka said.

"Why can't we use our generators to get the weapons systems of Atlantis working?" Ford asked both men.

"Because those systems were designed to be powered by the Zero Point Module—and the satellite isn't." Zelenka explained.

"And you think it's powerful enough to take out a Wraith hive ship?" John asked with a bit of skepticism.

"According to the Ancient database, it should be able to take out all three when fully charged. Keep in mind that the Ancient technology was far superior—they only lost the war because they were vastly outnumbered," said Rodney.

"Well, we're vastly outnumbered." John said.

"And outgunned," Bates added as I rolled my eyes at his voice.

"But they don't see the satellite as a threat," Zelenka told them.

"In Military parlance, surprise…is an element on our side." Rodney said with enthusiasm.

"What do you need?" Elizabeth asked from beside me.

"The satellite's fifteen hours away by puddle jumper. I recommend that we put together a small crew, say myself, Grodin and a pilot."

"I'll go."

"I'll do it." John and I both said at the same time. John smirked at me.

"No, Miller can handle it," Elizabeth said to us, "I need both of you to keep searching for alternate Alpha sites, just in case this fails."

"The hive ships will be in range of the satellite in forty-nine hours. We're going to need every last second of that time." Rodney said.

"Questions?" Elizabeth asks everyone in the room. When no one replied she spoke again, "Ok, let's get on it." Everyone stands and begins leaving the room. "Well, Rodney, I don't mean to put any undue pressure, but at this moment, that satellite is the only thing standing between the Wraith and Atlantis." I see Rodney grimace as Elizabeth walks away; as John is passing him he speaks.

"No undue pressure." He says as Rodney sighs and looks back at the screen.

* * *

 **Whew, a lot happened in this chapter! What did you all think of everything? The fight with Bates has always been my favourite thing to write, that guy deserved a smack in the nose. And cute was John and Mia together, awww. Again thank you everyone who favourited and alerted and reviewed to let me know what you thought, it does mean a great deal to me and I do love reading about what you guys love and think about this story!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **GoldenGod48** \- Thank you! Yes I love putting in my own stuff as it makes the story more interesting then just reading the same thing over and over! Yes it will be finished, this is my fav story to write!

 **Teekeybar98** \- Thank you! Yes I do love my romantic shit! haha

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you, yeah Mia loves everyone in her team and they all love her, even Rodney apparently, he's such a sweetheart deep down. Mia's a big softy and a romantic John always make me swoon ;)

 **LeopardFeather** \- Lucky 99! Thank you so much, this story so far has been my fav to write!

 **Guest** \- Thank you! Yes it's a real shame that they're aren't a lot of them, and after I had finished reading all of them I wasn't satisfied so I decided to write my own. I'll say this: Ronon = Drama. I'm doing a different take to many that I have seen with adding Ronon in and trying to keep it as realistic as I can at the same time so none of you will be disappointed. As for ever doing a Ronon/Oc story, maybe I will. Originally I loved those fanfics but then I changed to John/oc's but I will definitely consider it maybe when I have finished this story.

 **Sina** \- Oh gosh thank youuu! That's some heavy praise for lil ole me :3 Honestly your review made me grin so much and I'm so happy that you love it! I hope I will always keep up the standard that I want for this story! Ford's...I'm not spoiling anything, it's coming up soonish.

 **Thank you everyone! This was the most reviews I had received on a chapter, thank you all so so so much!**

 **See you next week!**


	24. Genesis - Chapter 24

**Hi guys, happy thursday or friday wherever you are! I won't talk much, nothing new to say but always thank you everyone for reviewing and alerting!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

John and I walk out of the conference room as we go outside to the balcony. The wind was pretty harsh out here as I held the jacket closer to my body and leant on the railing. John stood a fair distance away from me.

"You think it'll work?" I asked him. Knowing that the pensive look that he had on his face meant that he was thinking hard about something.

"It has to," He muttered as he leant on the railing with his arms. I turned around so that I was leaning backwards on the railing as I looked up at the spire.

"If anyone can fix it, Rodney can. I'm sure he'll be able to do it." I tried to reassure him as he glanced over at me then back out to the wide expanse of ocean.

"If he doesn't, then we're screwed." John sighed as I chuckled.

"You have such a way with words, Major." I said to him as I saw him crack a smile. Something popped into my thoughts. "You think the SGC got our message?" John shrugged.

"Even if they did, nothing they can do about it. They don't have a ZPM to power their gate. And what help could they send?" He said bitterly as I pursed my lips. He did have a point. It's not like they could send a ship through the Stargate. The door to the balcony opened as I saw Zelenka come walking out.

"Lieutenant Sumner, I was wondering if you could help me with something?" Zelenka asked me as I pushed off the railing.

"Of course, what is it?" I asked him. Zelenka nodded to John as he motioned for me to follow him. I hurried after him as we walked through the control room and to the stairs to the Jumper bay.

"Rodney was telling me how he planned to try and use the jumpers as a power source to power the chair."

"Sounds like a good idea," I said to him as we walked up the stairs.

"It is, the only thing is, Rodney began to start it and my knowledge with the puddle jumpers is very, uh limited." Zelenka said sheepishly. I chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I've got you covered." I said cheerfully as we reached the jumper bay. When we walked in I spotted Rodney walking into the jumper with Grodin. He looked over at us as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Bringing in the Help?" Rodney said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes.

"Have fun on your fifteen hour trip, Rodney." I said to him as I saw his demeanor changed as he pulled a face and headed into the jumper. I turned to Zelenka. "You've got to know what buttons to press with him," I said to Zelenka as he laughed. We headed over to the jumper, which had been used to try and tie in the power with. I picked up the tablet and looked over the diagnostics.

"So far we've only been able to connect the jumper into the cities systems. Trying to reroute it to the control chair room is the hard part." Zelenka explained.

"And getting it to interface with the chair as well."

"We haven't even gotten to that part yet," Zelenka said with defeat. I shook my head at him; he was too hard on himself. I went through some of the tablet as I began to move crystals around in the jumper's control. Something beeped on the tablet as Zelenka came over and looked over my shoulder.

"There's your problem," I said to him, showing him the tablet. "The jumpers aren't designed to be used as a power source." I said to him. "Now we know for a fact that the jumpers power system is like a rechargeable battery. Once it's on it recharges itself and so on. But for it to be tied into the control chair requires nearly all of its power to be used continuously, so it has no time to recharge itself, and then it's bye bye jumper," I said as Zelenka chuckled. "The control chair requires a huge amount of power to operate it, the jumper has nowhere near enough power to do that." Zelenka sighed. "But," I said, holding my finger up. "If we can somehow tie up another jumper to this one which is continuously running, it may be able to allow the power to flow through both of them, while still having enough to recharge them and power the control chair." Zelenka beamed at me.

"Jste dar poslaný od Boha!" He said in Czech. I looked at him with a blank look; he was still smiling and then realized that he had spoken in another language. He cleared his throat. "I just said that I'm really happy you figured it out." I laughed with him.

"Rodney may be an astrophysicist but I am a mechanical engineer and this is what I'm good out. Sometimes you've got to dumb it down a little." I said to Zelenka as he grinned. I set down the tablet and clasped my hands. "Alright, you head on down to the control chair and while you do that I will hook up the two jumpers and see if we can't get this party started!" I said in glee as Zelenka nodded and hurried out of the jumper.

* * *

I managed to hook up the two jumpers just as Zelenka radioed in that he was at the control chair. I powered up the second jumper and then ran back into the first one. I grabbed the tablet and hit my radio.

"Alright, Radek. Both jumpers are on, power is flowing through them, I just need to reroute some of the power systems to go through some backwards city systems."

" _Roger that."_ He replied back as I smirked.

"Hey, you think you could teach me some Czech words?" I asked him with a grin.

" _Now?"_ Came his reply.

"Yeah, what's the Czech word for fuck?" I said as I heard Zelenka laugh.

" _I don't think it would be smart for me to teach you that."_

"How about, Rodney you're an asshole?" I chuckled as Zelenka laughed again. The tablet beeped once I had made the necessary adjustments. "Ok, I am ready here, you ready over there?"

" _Yes."_ He replied. I hit the button as I heard the two jumpers whirling together. It was a very seconds later when the lights in the jumper and the bay flickered.

"Oh, no." I said. Suddenly sparks went flying all over the place as the power went out. I was thrust into darkness as I grimaced. I was going to be in so much trouble. "Now would be a good time to tell me that swear word," I said into my radio. The lights flickered back on as I heard another voice in my earpiece.

" _Lieutenant what's going on?"_ Elizabeth said to me. I grimaced and sighed.

"Sorry, ma'am, it wont happen again." I said as I grabbed the tablet once more and groaned. I hit my radio. "Zelenka. You still there?" I asked the scientist.

" _I am here, I got diagnostics saying that the cities power conduits were overloaded."_

"Yeah, it's what I was afraid of. It seems that the cities power systems can't handle that much power travelling through the backwards conduits. And I can't have it go through the main ones, as it would cause the city to freak out. Looks like we're back to square one." I sighed as I dropped the tablet on the seat and sat down next to it.

" _The word you're looking for is souložit."_ Zelenka told me as I grinned.

"Thanks." I chuckled, I looked up when someone appeared at the jumper; it was Ford.

"Hey," he said, "We've got a possible Alpha site to check, let's go." Ford said as I nodded and hurried after him.

* * *

We geared up in the armory and came out into the control room as John came down that stairs. "Have fun playing with the cities systems, Lieutenant?" John said with a smirk as I looked away sheepishly.

"I was just trying to help," I grumbled. The Stargate activated.

"Alright, let's go check this out, hopefully we've got a planet to go to." John said as Teyla, Ford, John and myself stepped through the gate.

We came out on the other side as I glanced around; this place seemed nice. The Stargate was in the middle of a forest, the trees were huge and the floor was covered in grass that came up to our waists.

"Alright we'll head out in teams of two." John said. "Sumner you go with—"

"I'll go with her." Ford cut in, as John looked a little defensive. I myself was shocked at him boldness as I looked over at him. He looked down at me and shrugged as I looked back to John. I knew that he was trying not to let it bother him, but I could see it in his tense jaw.

"Ok," John drawled, "Sumner you go with Ford. Teyla you come with me, stay in radio contact." John ordered as I nodded and headed off in the opposite direction with Ford.

We were walking through the long grass and couldn't see any footprints or paths through the grass, which was a good thing seeing as we wanted this place to be uninhabited. And for some reason it felt awkward to be around Ford, there was a tension between us and I didn't know why, and I didn't know if he was feeling it too or if it was just me? I think that now, after John had brought up Ford and about how he was always talking about me, I kind of felt a difference with him. He had never even given me a sign that he had liked me, I mean; we've known each other since diapers. But I guess that's how it turns out sometimes.

"What was with that before?" I finally plucked up the courage to ask him. Ford was a few feet away from me as we walked through the long grass.

"What was what?" He played dumb as I sighed.

"You know what," I said sternly. Ford shrugged.

"We haven't really been hanging out as much lately. I thought we could use this time to, you know, be like how we used too."

I stopped walking. "What's that supposed to mean?" I said, glaring at him. Ford stopped a few feet ahead of me and spun around.

"I just mean is, since you've been seeing this dude, or whatever, we haven't been hanging out as much lately. You're always off doing something or reading something. I just want the old Mia back," I became instantly offended.

"The old Mia?" I said, outraged.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Ford protested.

"Yes you did! So what, I've changed? Is that what you think? I have a life outside of you, Ford! And in case you haven't noticed, the Wraith are coming to kill us all so sorry if I haven't been running after you wanting to drink tea and eat Macaroons!" I yelled.

"Of course I don't think you've changed, I just think that you're spending a lot of your time with this guy and not enough with your friend whom you've known longer."

"Ford, you will always have a place in my heart and nothing can ever change that, it's not like I've been intentionally ignoring you. And if you must know I hardly ever see him because I am always helping out with trying to prepare Atlantis for the attack. Now please, can we get on with this, I would like to know if we have a safe place to go to." I said to him as I started walking again as I passed him. I heard him sigh in annoyance as he followed after me.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" I stopped and held my arm out to stop Ford from walking.

"Hear what?" He asked me. I held my breath, feeling the anxiety in the pit of my stomach. I turned my head to the left, trying to pick out the tiniest sounds around me. "Mia?" Ford whispered as I shushed him. Then, from my right came a loud roar that sounded like it belonged to a really big creature. Ford and I both grabbed our p-90's as we aimed it into the tree's. I hit my radio.

'Major, I think we should head back to the gate." I said quietly.

" _Why? What's going on?"_ John replied.

"I think we just found some really big animal life." I said as suddenly another roar went off and it sounded dangerously close. I jumped about five feet in the air as I saw what was making that noise…and it was heading straight for Ford and I. From this distance I could see that it was at least two stories high. It was a greyish colour, with a long tail covered in spikes. It's body was scaly and had spikes going down it's back, it's head looked like a weird version of an alligator with razor sharp teeth that hug over it's jaw. "Holy souložit." I muttered.

"Run!" Ford hollered as we both spun on our heels and ran like the wind. It was lucky that we hadn't wondered too far from the gate, the downside was that it was extremely hard to run through long grass.

"Dial the gate! Dial the gate now!" I screamed into my radio. I glanced over my shoulder and almost pooed myself at how close the beast had gotten. Its teeth were snapping at our heels as I quickly dived to the side, taking Ford with me as we rolled to the floor. The beast went running passed us as I kneeled up and looked around, I could see the gate; it was around three hundred meters away from us.

" _This is Major Sheppard, open the iris we're coming in hot!"_ I heard John speak into the radio back to Atlantis. The beast had now stopped and was looking around for where its prey had gone. I delved into my vest and pulled out my grenade as I pulled the pin and chucked it back the way we had come. It exploded as the beast ran towards it as I pulled Ford up as we sprinted once more.

We ran as hard as we could, we were about a hundred meters away from the gate when the beast roared again as Ford and I both looked over our shoulders. The beast was charging for us again.

"Run faster! I screamed to Ford as we managed to pick up the pace. I could see Teyla and John standing just before the Stargate as they finally saw the creature. They both raised their weapons and began firing as Ford and I reached them. I turned and pulled my p-90 on it as I fired at the beast as it roared and was almost at us when we stepped back through the gate.

We all continued to fire into the gate until it shut down, I breathed a sigh of relief and ran a hand through my tangled hair, which had come loose during my dive on the planet.

"I told you she was a liability, sir!" I turn around when I hear the voice of Bates close to me. His expression was furious as he spoke to John. "Now I'm not going to let your personal feelings endanger this facility any longer!" Bates said with a scornful tone. Teyla seemed to realize that this was about her as she stepped closer to Bates. John himself looked aggravated at Bates' accusations.

"What?" Teyla exclaimed. Bates turned to look at Teyla.

"Look, I'm not accusing you of doing it intentionally, but the Wraith must be getting information from you!" Bates said to Teyla. I watched Teyla's expression change from surprise to hurt and anger.

"What the hell are you talking about?" John said to Bates. "We ran into a, uh," John turned to look at both Ford and I. "What the hell was that?" He asked us. Ford was still trying to catch his breath when he spoke.

"Looked an awful lot like a T-rex, sir." Ford said as John gave Bates a pointed look.

"Yeah, a T-rex! It wasn't even Wraith! So why don't you check those accusations?" John cried out as Bates pursed his lips and turned his gaze away. I felt a smirk spread over my face from looking at Bates' expression, I loved it that he had just been proved wrong about Teyla.

"I take it you don't recommend the planet as an Alpha site, Major?" Elizabeth said to John. John shook his head.

"Wouldn't be my first choice. If McKay doesn't get the satellite online, we're screwed.' John said as Elizabeth looked around at us with a worried look. I watch as Bates walks off, his tail between his legs, I look at Teyla as she is glaring at his retreating back. Elizabeth draws my attention.

* * *

"Alright, we need to come up with some plan, drop your gear off and we'll convene in an hour." She told us as I watched Teyla run off. I frowned, I was wondering if she was going to confront Bates about what he had said, hopefully she did, he had been in the wrong this time. John, Ford and I followed after slowly as we left the control room and handed our p-90's to the Marine standing there with the gun box. We came around the corner just in time to see Teyla elbow Bates directly in his face. John and Ford ran to them, Ford went to hold back Bates as he tried advancing towards her to continue the fight as John grabbed Teyla.

"What the hell's going on here?" John demanded off them. I stand a few feet back, not wanting to get involved as John did say that if I fought with Bates again I'd been thrown in the jail cell.

"I was simply stating an opinion, Major!" Teyla yelled, trying to get at Bates.

"She attacked me!" Bates cried out, he too was pushing on Ford, trying to get free.

"Yeah, what reason would that be?" John asked from him.

"My guess would be the Wraith!" Bates yelled. When Bates said that Teyla tried to lunge for him again but John held her back.

"Walk away, Bates." John said, pointing at him.

"Sir!" Bates protested

"Walk away!" John yelled, his tone final. Bates shakes off Ford as he gives Teyla a glare; I chuckled from behind them as his glare turns to me.

"This isn't over." He said threateningly to Teyla, but it was to me as well from the look he sent me before he turned and stormed off.

"I would be disappointed if it were!" Teyla calls after him. Once John was sure that Bates wasn't about to run back here he turned to Teyla with a look that reminded me of the one when he had caught Bates and me fighting the other day.

"What the hell are you doing? You don't go around decking the head of security!" John scolded her.

"He said—" John cut her off.

"I don't care what he said! He says a lot of things. You just stay away from him." John warned her.

"I'm glad someone hit him." I grumbled, both Teyla and John hearing me. Teyla gave me an amused look and walked off as John glared at me. I looked away, knowing that he was pissed off with me for saying that.

* * *

Later that night, John, Ford and I were scheduled to go over some more possible Alpha sites for Stackhouse and his team to look at. I was heading to the conference room after just having my dinner when from down the corridor I heard a scream and something breaking. I frowned and ran down the corridor, checking the rooms as I passed, it seemed like someone had just either fallen over or accidently broken something, but that scream that I had heard sounded very painful. I hurried along the corridor, finally coming to the generator room as I paused in the doorway and gasped. Bates was unconscious on the floor with blood coming from his nose and his face was badly bruised. I knelt down by his side as I checked for a pulse; it was very slow. I heard footsteps behind me as I turned my head and saw two Marines standing in the doorway. Their gazes went from me to Bates and then back to me. I knew what must've been going through their heads. Everyone knew about he altercation Bates and I had a few days ago, it was like High school here and they probably suspected that I was the one who just pulverized the Head of Security. One of the Marines' hit his radio.

"Major Sheppard. We have a situation at Generator Station One." The Marine said into his radio. I stood up and tried to leave the room but they blocked me.

"Let me pass," I ordered them. The Marine who had talked into the radio shook his head.

"Can't do that, Ma'am." He said as I sighed and walked back into the room and stood off to the side. This looked bad, I was now stuck here as a suspect.

John and Ford arrived a few seconds later, they had obviously run from the conference room to here. "What's the problem?" I heard John ask as the Marine let him in.

"It's Bates, sir."

"What about him?"

"He's been attacked." John looked down at Bates as Ford followed him in. One of the Marine's was kneeling by his head as he looked over at me. John and Ford followed his gaze as they both saw me standing there with my arms crossed. John pulled a face as Ford looked disappointed.

"Get a medical team down here." John said into his radio. Ford looked away from me as John stood up straight.

"I didn't do this." I said, defending myself. John walked over to me as he looked over his shoulder at Ford.

"See to this, I'll deal with her." John said as he reached out and gripped my upper arm and dragged me out of the room. I felt like a small child being scolded. I didn't want to speak, I was so angry that both of them thought that I had done that to Bates, I was the one who found him like that. John marched me all the way to my room without saying a word. When we reached my door he swiped his hand over the sensor as the doors slid open as he walked me in, once inside he let go of my arm and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I didn't do it," I said to him again.

"Well explain why you were there?" John asked.

"Because I heard him scream!" I yelled. "I went to go and help whoever it was and I found him like that."

"Then why didn't you radio it in?" He asked. I opened my mouth and then closed it again. I frowned at him.

"Because those two Marines came in literally two seconds after me, I was checking to make sure he wasn't dead. In case you didn't see, he was in pretty bad shape."

"Well excuse me if I find that hard to believe." John snapped as I let out a frustrated groan. "You have shown on many occasions that you can handle yourself, you've sent nearly every single Marine here to the infirmary at least once, including myself. You can attack four Genii soldiers without getting a scratch and you said yourself to Bates that if he said anything else about Teyla that he would have to deal with you, so explain that to me, Mia."

"I didn't do it! Why wont you believe me?" I said desperately. I saw his expression soften slightly, but then he shook his head.

"Of course I want to believe you, but you have to look at the facts."

"I would never have gone after him! Yes what he said about Teyla was way out of line but I didn't want to start anything with Bates again because I didn't want to disappoint you or Elizabeth again." John didn't reply as he continued to stare at me. I felt like I was on the verge of tears, I could see in his eyes that he thought I had attacked Bates.

"You are confined to your quarters until this matter is resolved," John said as he left. I shook my head and sighed as I fell back on my bed.

I went to sleep shortly after that, when I woke up a Marine had come to see me and inform me that they had questioned Teyla as well and that the investigation was still ongoing and that I had to stay in my room until notified. The Marine then parked himself outside my door; I had a goddamn security detail. So I spent most of the day reading my Ancient database, I knew it wouldn't take them long to realize that I wasn't the one who attacked Bates and they'd all come running to apologize. I was practicing my 'I told you so' face. It was nearing the end of the day when my door opened and Ford stood there. I smirked at him.

"Come to tell me that everything was a big mistake and I'm in the clear?" I said to him, rolling off my bed and crossing my arms. Ford pursed his lips.

"It was a big mistake. We know you didn't harm Bates."

"Thank you!" I said in relief.

"He was attacked by a Wraith." Ford dropped as I almost died from a heart attack.

"What?" I almost screeched. He beckoned me to follow him as we jogged up to the control room. Marines were handing out vests and p-90's, I zipped mine up and left the gun hanging, there was no need to clip it on.

"Lieutenant," I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. I turned and saw John zipping up his own vest. "I would like to apolo—"

"Save it," I snapped at him. He didn't look to surprised that I had done that, he probably expected it. And besides, if he wanted to apologize later, he could do it when we were alone, not around all these people. I loaded my gun with a sharp snap and narrowed my eyes at him as he swallowed loudly as I walked into the conference room where about two dozen Marines stood at attention, as well as Elizabeth, Zelenka, Carson, Teyla and Ford. John followed behind me. I saw Elizabeth give me an apologetic smile, she probably felt guilty that she too had thought that I had attacked Bates.

"Someone tell me how this is possible. How can the Wraith get inside the city?" John asked around.

"They didn't gate in," Ford stated.

"The dart," Zelenka said.

"What?" John asked him, confused. I was too.

"The Wraith dart that scanned us," Zelenka said, and it jogged my memory. I remember now, a dart had flown over us while we had been dealing with Kolya on Dagan, it had scanned the city and then self-destructed, killing the pilot; or so we thought. "It made it's way through the city, scanning for data. The second it was done, it self-destructed." Zelenka said.

"So it beamed into the city," John stated.

"Can they do that?" Ford asked.

"The same technology that is used to sweep people up and into their ships must work in the opposite way." Teyla said, which made sense.

"So the pilot of the Wraith dart scanned us, transmitted his information to the hive ships, beamed down here and destroyed his ship." Weir summarized for us.

"Yes, yes. It seems possible." Zelenka agreed.

"That is precisely the time I started to sense the Wraith continually." Teyla announced.

"No wonder you were having nightmares." John said to her.

"What's he been doing here all this time?" Elizabeth wondered out loud.

"Well, Sergeant Bates was attacked near the naquadah generator that powers this tower." Zelenka said.

"The Wraith must have been doing recon. Maybe his job is to knock out the power before the hive ship gets here—leave us dead in the water." Said John.

"Or to make sure any self destruct plan we had in place wouldn't work." Ford added.

"Maybe a combination of both," Elizabeth agreed.

"Exactly." Carson said, finally speaking.

"What we do know for sure is that we have a Wraith intruder in the city that we have to track down." Elizabeth said to us.

"I have an idea." Zelenka announced as he beckoned for us to follow him out of the conference room and into the control room. He sat down at the console I knew was the biometric sensor. "This is a biometric sensor we've had online for the past moth or so. It detects irregularities in biometric rhythm and reports them." Zelenka explained.

"Wouldn't it have picked up on the Wraith?" John asked. I noticed that he had stood next to me out here.

"Well, it requires significant amount of power, so we've narrowed its field of focus to scan solely in the Gate room, figuring that was the only place that the Wraith," Zelenka pressed something on the console as we watched the screen widen. "Or any other alien, for that matter, would likely enter the city from."

"Ok, so that was wrong." John said sarcastically.

"Yes," Zelenka agreed, "Now if I could only expand the scanning field to…" Zelenka trails off as he messes with the control. All of us wait as we watch the screen show little white dots. Then a red on popped up as it zoomed in on it. "My God!"

"What?" John asked him.

"That's him, look." Zelenka said, pointing at the screen.

"It works very much like a life signs detector, but it's able to distinguish different life forms." Carson said.

"That's him." John repeated again. I felt very disturbed for having a Wraith in the city this entire time.

"That's him." Zelenka confirmed.

"You can track him in real time?" John asked him as Zelenka nodded.

"Yes." John turned to Ford, Teyla and I.

"Ford, Sumner, Teyla, we need two teams, let's go get him." John said as Ford nodded.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

We convened down at the bottom of the stairs; the Marines from the conference room had joined us down here, as John stood a little higher up on the stairs. I stood next to Ford with Teyla beside me.

"Alright, here's the deal," John's loud voice echoed through the room. "We've got a Wraith in Atlantis, we're heading out in two teams to find and capture this guy. Capture, not kill, we need to know what information he has been sending out to his buddies. But if not, you are permitted to use any force necessary to eliminate him, understood?"

"Yes, sir." A chorus of voices called out as John stepped down from the stairs.

"Sumner," John's voice drew me to look at him. "You're with me."

"Yes, sir." I said, trying not to sound miserable. It's not that I didn't want to go with him; I was just still pissed off at him.

Our two groups travelled together before John gave the signal for us to split, we were going to come in from both sides, the room the Wraith was in only had two exits, so we would come from one side and Ford's group from the other. Once we were drawing closer to the room John made us halt and check our weapons. A few of the Marines were equipped with stunners, though myself and John both had our p-90's. We crept through the corridors, my eyes scanning every nook and cranny that we passed, but still trying to keep my focus ahead of me.

"Is he still in place, Doc?" John whispered into his radio when the door that the Wraith was in came into view.

" _Yes. He's still in the same room. He hasn't moved since we located him,"_ came Zelenka's reply.

"Let's hope he's still sleeping. Ford, Teyla, you in position?" John asked.

" _Almost,"_ came Teyla's hushed reply. John made us stop as I ducked behind a pillar and poked my head around it.

"My teams ready. We're going to breach the room at the same time from different directions. If he tries to get out the other door, take him." John said into his radio.

" _Understood, sir. We shouldn't be more than a few minutes."_ Ford replied.

"Alright. Stand by." John said as the radio cut out. John glanced over at me as I met his piercing gaze, he nodded ever so slightly as I nodded back, understanding what he meant to say. Something startled us as the door to the room opened up, I snapped into action, facing the door ready to fire on whatever came out when suddenly an unknown force hit me. It threw me back a few feet as I hit the ground, my body paralyzed. I couldn't move anything and I could feel the darkness threatening to take me. I'd never been stunned by a Wraith stunner before, but I'm guessing this is what it felt like. My eyes were drooping shut and the last thing I saw was the Wraith leaning over John, but I couldn't do anything as I passed out.

* * *

When I awoke I was in the infirmary. This was becoming a familiar sight for me, I bet Carson was having the time of his life and thinking up new jokes about how I should just move my bed in here…that was actually a good one. I rubbed my eyes and cursed the movement; my whole body tingled like painful pins and needles. It ached all over and I did not want to feel this, this was torture. My left foot was still numb and as I rubbed the left side of my face I couldn't feel that too. I groaned as I looked over to the left and right side of me. Only two other Marines were in here, still unconscious it seemed, it didn't spot John but I saw Carson sitting at his desk. Maybe I could just slip out quietly and he wouldn't even realize that I had gone, I didn't want to hear his lame jokes about me right now, I wanted to know what had happened with the Wraith. A memory suddenly popped into my mind, the last thing I remember was the Wraith standing over John, I looked around again, he wasn't here. I felt my heartbeat race, was he dead? Did the Wraith get him? I had to find out; I pushed myself up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. They still felt incredibly weak and numb as I hopped off; I managed to stand while holding onto the bed. I took one step and felt my leg crumble under me as I hit the floor.

"Ow!" I whined. I turned my face to the side and rubbed it, my nose stung. I heard Carson get up from his desk as he hurried over to me.

"What the bleedin' hell are you doin'?" I heard him ask me.

"Trying to walk," I grumbled, pushing myself up.

"Well, doesn't look like ya did very well then." Carson snapped as he helped me up. My leg wobbled again as Carson sat me back down on the bed. He brought out his little pen light as he pried my eyes open wide and shone the light into them. "How're you feeling now?" Carson asked.

"Like I got stunned by a Wraith stunner," I snapped.

"Don't get smart with me, if it hadn't been for Teyla and Lieutenant Ford. You, Major Sheppard and the rest of ya's would've been Wraith food."

"He's ok then?" I asked him.

"Aye, he woke up earlier than most of you's. Tough man he is."

"Whatever," I said waving my hand, "can I go now?" I asked him as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Only if you can walk without falling," He said, stepping to the side and allowing me to stand back up.

"Easy as pie," I said, pushing myself off again. I took a hesitant step forward as my leg buckled but I was ready for it, I caught myself. "I'm fine," I said to him. He had tried to reach out and catch me. I walked a few more steps, and turned back to Carson, beaming. He nodded.

"Off you go," He said. I whooped and spun back around. My leg buckled once more but I caught myself again.

"I'm fine!" I waved my hand as I heard Carson laughing at me as I hurried out of the infirmary.

* * *

 **Can I just say, I love love Carson and Mia's interaction, it's honestly like a brother sister relationship between them, and also with Rodney, which develops a bit more in the final chapters! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, next one we start on the Siege Chapters! I can't believe that we are here already, it feels like just yesterday that I posted the first chapter, ok I'm rambling now haha. Let me know what you all thought about it some things happened with Ford and Bates in this chapter and hopefully I can answer some of your questions now as I've been burning to all week.**

 **REPLIES**

 **Sina** \- Thank you :) Yes Bates is a real asshole, I kind of made him more of an asshole in this then in the actual show. Haha, sorry you had to wait but lucky you that you got double chapters last week xD Of course Ford was jealous, there has to be a love triangle in here somewhere! I haven't actually read Homecoming but I do know a little about it, I won't say anything because I'm not sure if i'll be right and I don't want to look like a fool ahah. But thank you! That's so nice of you to say that! I'm honoured! Yeah chapter 14 is one of my fav's too *squee*

 **Adela** \- Thank you, she tried but failed to get a good hit on him!

 **Parmakai66** \- Haha yeah a lot happened last chapter. And each chapter is roughly 10 pages long on word and from memory that's like 7,000 words or something. It does change some weeks for special cutoff's, so one week it might be a little shorter or longer depending on a good place for me to finish the chapter :) That was honestly a defining moment for me, John being all cute and jealous but yeah, not very mushy mushy as impending death is coming for them...but there is a little more fluff fluff coming next chapter i'm pretty sure ;) REALLY? You didn't assume that? I thought everyone would have guessed by now, if it's not obvious in this chapter i've done something wrong xD or maybe something right? hahah omg the lost boyyyysssssss i've literally just started writing these chapter and holyyyy molyyyy i cannot wait for you guys to read them.

Bates is just as asshole, I just wanted to make it clear, he doesn't know about John and Mia, he was just being petty and trying to get a rise out of her...which worked. She did try :( and yeah i know John was a bit soft on them but the reason i did that, i shall tell you now. Originally Mia did hit Bates, and she actually got a few good hits in, before she was dragged off and sent to the brig by John. Buuuuuut i re wrote it because I wanted her to be the one to find Bates all bloodied and bruised and her not to be in the brig so that the confrontation between Mia and John would happen. DRAMA. It was literally a split decision because otherwise i would've had to of skipped a whole lot of the episode because she would've been confined. And where's the fun in a little angst between our lovers?

 **Guest** \- Thank you for that! :)

 **Sheppardlover98** \- Thank you, It's ok that you've fallen behind, it's not going anywhere! I'm glad your enjoying my insert with Mia and it's not too overwhelming.

 **Thank you everyone for reviewing and alerting! See you all next week.**


	25. Genesis - Chapter 25

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's a little late out today I had a lot of things going on today! Enjoy this chapter before all hell starts to break loose!**

 **THIS CHAPTER IS RATED M. A VERY BIG M.**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

I wasn't confident to run yet so I settled for a fast paced walk towards the brig. I knew that if they had captured the Wraith which is what we wanted to do he would be in there and John wouldn't be too far away. I had to see if he was ok with my own eyes. As I neared the control room I heard the comms system activate overhead.

" _May I have your attention, please?"_ Elizabeth says, " _This is Doctor Weir. Our plan to stop the Wraith armada has failed. They will make it to Atlantis."_ I stop walking as I look around me. I was in the personal quarters and even though it was late at night, people were coming out of their rooms and stood next to each other, supporting one another. " _Therefore we must begin our evacuation plans. I wish I could tell you all that this is a fight that we will win, but I can't do that."_ She said, I could hear the sadness in her voice. " _I wish I could tell you that we will find safe harbor when we leave here. I can't promise you that either."_ I heard her pause. " _I can tell you this; up to now, you have all accomplished extraordinary things, and I believe that even in the face of an uncertain future, as long as we stay together we have a chance to continue to do so. Now we all have our evacuation duties, so thank you, and I'll see you on the other side."_ The connection goes dead as I look around once again. Everyone looked fearful from what she had said; I did too. I knew that we wouldn't start moving out until tomorrow morning, so we had tonight to savor this city, to imprint everything to memory. I began walking again, my pace was a lot more desperate now, I had to see him. Our fate was uncertain. But I knew how much I cared about him. It was a long walk to the brig, and it was cold, I wrapped my arms around myself as I turned a corner, near the door to the brig, and I walked straight into someone. I bounced back, throwing my arms out to try and steady myself as I felt warm hands grip my arms and hold me in place. I looked up into familiar hazel eyes as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your awake." John stated.

"Are you ok?" I asked him, my hands went to his chest as I felt around, "did he get you?" I asked him. John gripped my hands.

"I'm fine," He said. He dropped my hands as I took a step away from him, I hadn't realized how close we had become and we were in a public place. "How do you feel?" He asked me as I shrugged.

"I'm ok, still a bit tingly. Did you hear what Elizabeth said?" I said softly. I saw him nod. "We have to leave."

"It'll be alright." He said, reassuringly as I tried to smile. "Hey," he said. "I'm sorry about everything with Bates, I should have believed you." He admitted. I gave him a weak smile and shook my head.

"It's alright."

"No it's not." He retorted, frowning. "I should've known that you would never have taken it that far with Bates, and I should've taken your word for it," I didn't say anything, but I quickly reached out and threw my arms around his neck and pressed myself to his body. His arms settled around my waist as I sighed in contempt.

"I thought I had lost you." I whispered to him, I felt his grip tighten. I heard a noise from down the corridor as I jumped away from him. We both looked around, hoping that no one had seen us. "I'm going to head to bed. It's been a really long day." I said to him. He nodded as I turned on my heel and marched away, I could feel his stare on my back the entire time.

* * *

I was sitting on my bed, staring at the window as I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I wiped it away with the back of my hand. I don't know why I was crying, I was just scared, I didn't know what tomorrow was going to bring, I hated not knowing if we would survive out there. I heard my door open from behind me as I wiped my cheeks hastily. The door shut and I heard his heavy footsteps come around the bed as he appeared in front of me and knelt down. I could see the concern on John's face as his eyes roamed over my face; he knew I was crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, he reached out and caressed my cheek, using his thumb to brush a tear away.

"I'm scared," I whispered, turning my gaze away from him. He took my hands and pulled me up with him. His arms went around my shoulders, encasing me in his embrace as I wrapped mine around his torso, gripping onto his shirt. His chin rested on my head as I shut my eyes. I felt so safe and secure in his arms, like nothing can hurt me.

"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow," he murmured into my ear, "but what I do know is that nothing is going to happen to you or anyone else here. We're all going to stick together and get through this." He said to me as I nodded. I did feel reassured but I was still terrified, and I wanted to feel something other than this crippling fear. I tilted my head up to look at him; he glanced down at me.

"Kiss me," I said to him. I saw the realization on his face; he knew what this meant too. "I don't know if we're going to be alive tomorrow, I just need this night to last forever," I said to him.

John nodded and leaned his head down and pressed a soft kiss against my lips. One of his hands tangled itself in my loose locks and the other was smoothing across my neck and collarbone. My hand tightened on his shirt and I pulled him even closer to me so that there was no space between us. While we kissed we both managed to slip our boots off and kick them over to the side of the room. I heard something smash as we both laughed and resumed our kiss. John bit down on my lower lip gently as I opened my mouth for him as his warm tongue slipped inside. I could feel his growing member between us as I could feel myself getting wet from feeling him. I moved my hands to the front of his stomach, feeling his toned torso ripple from my touch, I bunched his shirt up in my hands as I pulled it over his head, our lips broke but as soon as his shirt was gone he resumed. I could feel my mind clouding over in the familiar ecstasy that I got whenever we were intimate with one another. And I would never tire of this feeling, every time we were together it seemed to intensify and I lived for that. I felt the desire to touch every part of his body and commit it to memory. My hands trailed around his waist, up his stomach, and over his shoulders. I knew that on his back, just to the side of his shoulder blade he had a scar that he received from the gunshot wound he received from that lone Wraith on the desolated planet near the satellite. I trailed my hands back down and to the front of his cargo pants. I heard him intake a sharp breath as I grinned into his mouth. His lips moved from my mouth and along my jaw and down to my weak spot just behind my ear as he kissed and sucked on the sensitive flesh there, sending a wave of pleasure through me. My eyes shut in bliss as I felt his hands roam down my hips and to my butt, his large hands splayed out across my cheeks as he pulled our lower bodies together, I moaned from the feel of him as my hands fondled him through the material of his pants. I heard him moan in the back of his throat as his hands tightened their grip on my butt.

"Mia…" He hissed out. He was rocking into my hand as I tilted my head back, giving him more access to my neck as his tongue danced across my skin. My deft hands unbuckled his belt and buttons on his pants as I pushed them off his hips, they pooled at his feet as he kicked them away. I leaned into him, pressing a kiss against his shoulder. I wanted to imprint everything to memory about him; I kissed along his chest and to the other shoulder. It was slow and sensual and I could tell John was loosing patience but he knew what this meant to me. My hands followed where my kisses had been as I moved down his chest and to his toned stomach. I felt his muscles tighten as I slowly dropped to my knees. He ran his fingers through my hair as I kissed just above the waistband of his boxers and hooked my fingers in them as I tugged them down. John let out a hiss as he was finally released from the confines as I wrapped my fingers around the base of him. He moaned loudly from my touch as I grinned up at him, I loved knowing what I did to him. I moved slowly, sliding my hand up and down him as I heard his breathing come out in hard pants. I leaned forwards, pressing a kiss to his leaking tip.

"Fuck." He groaned as I took him in my mouth. His grip in my hair tightened as I bobbed my head, taking him to new heights. I watched him throw his head back in euphoria as his lips parted. "Mia, I'm gonna…" He trailed off, unable to speak when I felt him thrust into my mouth and I tasted the warm, salty seed. I pulled away from him, smirking up at him as he glanced down at me. "You're such a minx." He said with that sexy smile he always did.

"Only for you," I said in a sultry tone.

"Stand up." He ordered. I complied as I rose back onto my feet. I loved the stare he gave me as his eyes roamed over my body. My eyes trailed all over his body once more, I bit my bottom lip as I let my eyes settle on his growing member once more. His hand came up and grasped my chin as my gaze met his. "Do you have any idea what it does to me when I see you bite that lip?" He muttered. Knowing this I bit down on my lip again, I saw a deep desire and hunger flash over his face as he kissed me hard on the mouth. I moaned when he bit down on my lip, his hands wondered over my body, touching and kneading. I gasped when I felt a hand travel south to my private region as he ran a finger over my pants. I felt a jolt of pleasure come over my as I threw my head back as his lips kissed over my neck once more. He continued to rub me over my pants as I could feel my hips rocking with him, my body loosing control. Before I could finish he pulled his hand away as I whined, wanting more.

"Don't move." He ordered once more. Sending a rush of thrill through me at being ordered around. I grinned as he quickly removed my shirt and threw it to the side. I was left in a silky blue bra but he didn't care about that, his fingers worked their magic and soon my bra was gone and discarded. The cool air hit my nipples as they hardened. John's hands moved around from my back to my breasts as he took them into his large hands. I reached out to touch any part of him but he moved out of my reach. "Don't move," he repeated. I nodded as his hands resumed their work as I moaned from his touch. He dipped his head down kissing my supple breast as his other hand kneaded my other breast. I couldn't think anymore, all I could so was try not to fall over and feel every single nerve that I had become ignited from him. He began to kiss over my chest and to the other one as I let out a breathless sigh. My leg brushed the bed as John pushed me back so that I fell onto my bed with a bounce. I braced myself with my hands as John leaned over me and kissed me, his tongue delved into the confines of my mouth as he used one hand to push me back so that I lay flat on the bed. He then kissed down my neck, in between the valley of my breasts, his hands following him as he went, pausing to fondle my breasts once more as I moaned for him. He kissed all over my stomach and hovered over my gunshot wound. It was a little scar, just a fine line of raised skin but he kissed it so tenderly, like it would break. He left warm kisses all over my stomach as he reached the waistline of my pants. With his quick fingers he undid the button and zip and shimmied the pants down, taking my underwear with it. He threw them off to the side as his hands lightly skimmed over my bare thighs. My entrance was pulsing and waiting for him as he knelt down on the floor and kissed the inside of my thigh. I felt the intense need for him spread through me as I moaned his name. His hands felt over my thighs again as he kissed the other thigh. I threw my head back onto the mattress.

"Holy shit, John please." I begged him, fisting the sheet up in my hands.

"Tell me what you want." He murmured, just from hearing him so close to my entrance sent pleasure through me.

"You, only you." I whispered to him. He kissed my thigh again, this time trailing his lips closer and closer to my sweet spot. Every spot that he kissed sent sparks through me until I finally felt the one thing I had been waiting for. I felt his tongue flick out and kiss my opening, causing a loud moan to shoot out from my throat. I didn't even know what my own name was, all I could think about was what he was doing to me. Then I felt a digit enter me also and I was taken to a new height of euphoria, I could feel everything inside me, his finger teasing my walls and his tongue swirling around. I could hear my moans getting louder and heavier as I could feel my walls tightening and the orgasm building up.

"Fucking hell, oh God John." I managed to whimper out, as everything was too much for me as I came. The moan that came from my mouth was loud and I could feel the lightness and bliss that came with my orgasm. He removed his finger from inside me as I came down from my high. My chest was heaving as I saw him lean over me as he pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I could taste myself on him as I pushed us up so that we were standing again. Using force I pushed down on his shoulders so that he sat down on my bed as I sat on his lap, straddling him. I ravaged his mouth with my own; his hands ran up and down my spine, leaving a hot trail as I ran my fingers through his messy hair. I pressed my naked chest against his, our hot and slick skin sliding over each other as I pulled away from him; I ran my hand over his cheek and over his stubble as I gazed into his loving hazel eyes. He brought his own hand up to brush my hair over my shoulder.

"I'm glad I met you." I whispered to him. I could feel the tears building up within my eyes as John kissed the tear away when it rolled down my cheek.

"I never thought I would care for another person as much as I do you." John said to me as I smiled. He leaned forwards and kissed me with so much passion I felt like I was going to explode. I could feel his hard member poking at my entrance as I used my hand to guide it as I kneeled up slightly. Our eyes met as I slid down onto him slowly. We both let loose a moan at the same time as I my eyes slid shut in bliss. It felt like coming home whenever I felt him inside me. He filled me up completely as I took him down to the hilt. His hands roamed over my back once more as they trailed down to my butt as he gripped it tightly and began to rock me up and down. I pressed our chests together again and I kissed his neck over and over as I used my legs to ride him into oblivion.

I awoke later that night, naked and tangled up in my sheets. I rubbed my eyes and felt behind me, feeling the bed empty and cold next to me. Worry shot through me as I pushed myself up and looked around my dark room. I spotted John standing by the window, he had moved the curtain away as he gazed out of the window in the pre-dawn light. Relief flooded through me as I gazed over his muscled back and tight ass, which was clad in his black boxers. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and pushed myself up. My bare feet padded across the cool floor as I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his torso. His tilted his head down to look at me as a smile ghosted over his face. He moved his arm so that it came around my shoulder as I leant my head against his chest.

"You worried?" I asked him. I saw him nod. "We'll make it through this." I said to him. I tightened my arms around his as I kissed his chest. I rested my head on his chest as I heard his steady heartbeat in my ears.

"Ready for round two?" I heard him ask as a cheeky grin spread across my face. He turned his body so that he was facing me as I wound my arms around his neck.

"Always for you." I said with a smirk. John hooked his arms around my thighs as he lifted me as I clamped my legs around his waist. He kissed me hard on the mouth as he carried me back to the bed.

* * *

I lay on my stomach in my bed; the sheets covered my bare bum as I lay my head on John's chest. His fingers were trailing up and down my back as his other arm was tucked under his head as he stared up at the ceiling. My free hand was resting on his stomach as I sighed and snuggled closer to his warm body.

"You know what?" I said to him. I felt his chest vibrate as he made a sound, asking me to go on. "I think my dad would've been ok with us," I said with a smirk. John laughed loudly.

"Oh really? Your dad hated me from the moment he met me, what makes you think he would be ok with the two of us dating?" I leaned up on my elbows.

"Well, he'd be mad at first, like he always was when he found out I had a boyfriend. But I think if you guys got to really know each other he'd be fine with it."

"Minus the fact that I'm you Commanding Officer," I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well if he was here you wouldn't be my C.O. would you?" I quirked an eyebrow at him; John nodded as he leaned his head forwards and pressed a tender kiss to my lips. He used his free hand to brush my hair away from my face and behind my ear. He pulled away from me as I glanced over his shoulder to look at my alarm clock. It was five in the morning, early for most people on the base but this morning we were evacuating out of Atlantis today. We had about twelve hours before the Wraith got here and Rodney should be returning in about two hours time. "We should get ready." I told him as he nodded solemnly. I pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek as I jumped out of the bed. "I'm going to have a shower, care to join me?" I asked as I winked at him. John smirked and hopped out of the bed.

"If I ever say no to that, shoot me." He remarked as I laughed.

* * *

I stood by the Stargate on our Alpha site. It wasn't currently activated at the moment, that second last group had just come through as I directed them down to the camp. They all had worried and tired faces as they lugged their equipment with them along the winding path, which had been marked with bright orange flags. I heard footsteps approaching the Stargate as I groaned out loud when I saw Kavanagh walking up to me.

"Lieutenant Sumner, I need to speak with you." He hissed as he reached me.

"What is it, Kavanagh?" I groaned. He crossed his arms and glared at me.

"I need to return to Atlantis right now. I left some very important research there."

"No can do, no one leaves here." I told him.

"Do you have any idea how important my research was?" He yelled at me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Kavanagh, we have more important things to worry about then some stupid research."

"For you maybe."

"For all of us." I said sternly. "Now take your sorry ass back to camp before I drag you there myself, understood?" I glared at him. He held my glare for a few more seconds before he grumbled under his breath and marched away. I shook my head at his retreating back. I swear one day someone is going to shoot him, and it'll probably be Rodney if it's not me.

I jumped in surprise when the Stargate activated. We weren't due for another group for another half hour. I hurried to the D.H.D as I hit my radio.

"Stackhouse this is Sumner. We've got an incoming wormhole." I said to him as I aimed my p-90 at the gate.

" _Affirmative. On my way."_ I heard Stackhouse's reply as the wormhole connected. I waited patiently for someone to step through.

" _Alpha site this is Atlantis, please respond."_ I recognized John's voice as I frowned in confusion.

"This is Sumner, go ahead." I said to him.

" _I need all Military personnel to return to Atlantis immediately. And any civilians who wish to fight the Wraith."_ I looked over my shoulder as I heard Stackhouse and his team reaches me, they were all staring at me with confused looks also.

"Major please explain?" I asked John.

" _The SGC sent reinforcements."_ He said as I reeled back in shock. Well they were cutting it short. I looked over at Stackhouse; he was grinning, as well as his team.

"Acknowledged, we'll be there shortly." I said to him as the gate shut down. I turned to Stackhouse. "Head back to camp, inform everyone what's happening. I'll dial the gate." Stackhouse nodded to me as he and his team headed back to camp as I began to dial home.

The gate connected as I sent through my I.D.C, I waited a few more seconds before I stepped through and emerged back in Atlantis. I saw huge crates with Marines wheeling them out of the control room. John was standing by the stairs as I walked over to him. "What's going on?" I asked him. His arms were crossed and he had a very annoyed look on his face. From behind me I could hear people coming back through the gate.

"SGC sent through a team of Marines with some fancy rail guns. And that guy." He jerked his thumb up to the control room as I paled and face palmed.

"Oh god, anyone but him."

"Lieutenant Sumner!" A familiar voice shouted from above. I plastered on a smile as I looked up and saw Colonel Everett, a long time friend of my fathers. Out of the corner of my eye I saw John's jaw drop slightly. Everett was walking down the stairs as I stepped away from John and saluted him properly.

"Colonel," I said formally as Everett reached us, he gave John the stink eye as he got the message and walked away from us. Once John was gone Everett turned back to me.

"No warm greetings for your Godfather?" Everett asked with a smirk. I tried not to grimace.

"It's good to see you, Colonel." I said to him as I looked over his shoulder and saw John looking god smacked as he looked from me to Everett. Everett clapped me hard on the shoulder, almost making me cripple under the force of it.

"When I had heard that you had taken up a position here I couldn't believe it. After everything that happened with your boyfriend I assumed you'd quit for good." Everett said, causing me to tense up. I frowned at him.

"I'm not a quitter, you should know that better then anyone," I hissed at him as he nodded.

"Of course, now about the defense of Atlantis. I need you to supervise the installation of the Rail guns."

"Why me?" I snapped at him. He frowned at me in the same manner my own father would do as I cleared my throat. "I mean, of course, Colonel. May I ask why?"

"Well, these rail guns are your design, are they not?" Everett handed me a schematic as I glanced over it.

"Uh, yeah, but how…"

"You did your thesis on these."

"Yeah but I didn't think that anyone would have the materials or even attempt to create them."

"Well someone did, and they are the things that are going to help protect Atlantis." I looked down at the schematic again. It had been a few years since I had finished my degree, and for my thesis I had done a paper on a super rail gun, I never thought they'd ever be built, it was exhilarating to know that this was my own plans they had done it from. "Get going, we've got ten hours before the Wraith get here." He ordered as I saluted him and ran off, chasing up a few Marines and instructing them on where the best defensive positions would be to put them.

* * *

I was exhausted and the fight hadn't even begun, I was helping a Marine set up the rail gun on one of the piers. I had been doing this for a good five hours now, running around, making sure that they were all installed properly and ready for use. Every once in a while I'd hear a jumper fly overhead; I knew that it was John teaching the pilots how to fly them. I sighed and rubbed my forehead as I finished up on my third rail gun. After giving it a test fire and seeing that everything was good I headed on over to my next rail gun.

" _Lieutenant Sumner, we're ready for a test fire on rail gun eight, shall we proceed?"_ I heard someone say over my radio. I hit the button.

"Negative, wait until I get there and give it the all clear."

" _Understood,"_ came his reply. I hurried over to where rail gun eight was as I arrived a few minutes later. A marine was manning the gun and moving it around as I walked up to the rail gun. I opened up the gun as the Marine whom I spoke to on the radio came and looked over my shoulder.

"I've double checked everything, ma'am, it should all be in order." He said to me as I dug around.

"Yeah, I'll be the judge of that." I said. I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I wrenched out a part of the gun. "And luckily you didn't fire it."

"What?" He asked. I pointed to the compressor in my hand.

"This parts on backwards, you fire this baby with that on the wrong way round and its goodbye with a nice show of fireworks." The Marine looked annoyed that I had found something wrong with the gun as I thrust it into his hands. "Put it on correctly." I ordered him. He nodded and got to work.

"Mia?" I heard a timid voice. I looked over my shoulder and saw Teyla standing a few feet away from me.

"Hey," I said to her, walking to her. I saw her upset face, as I grew concerned. "What's wrong?" I asked her. She fidgeted with her hands and sighed.

"I um, I wanted to ask you something." She said. She grasped my arm and led me further away from the Marines. "I heard that Colonel Everett is a close friend of yours."

"Well, I wouldn't say friend." I scoffed, "He's was my dad's friend for a long time. Why do you ask?" I asked her.

"He has ordered me to stay away from all areas that have direct knowledge about our attack plans." I frowned. Of course he would do something like that, I get that he must've been looking out for the base but Teyla had proved herself to us.

"Teyla, look—" I was cut off when the rail gun suddenly fired off a shot. We both jumped as I gave the Marines a dark look, I looked to Teyla. "Just one second." She nodded as I stormed over to the Marines. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" I screeched at them. All three of the Marines looked at each other then back at me. "I thought I told you to wait until I gave it the all clear! Do you have _any_ idea what could've happened to us had something else have been wrong with it?"

"No, ma'am."

"We could've all been dead for one tiny mistake! You already made one mistake putting this thing together!"

"Sorry, ma'am." The Marine's said.

"Get your sorry assess to the next rail gun, and radio me when your ready for me to check it, and for god's sake do not test fire it until I give the all clear."

"Yes, ma'am!" All three of them chorused as they marched off. I walked back to Teyla with a pleasant smile.

"So, as I was saying…" I said as Teyla chuckled.

"You are very scary when you are angry."

"That was more like a level three, you should see me at ten," I said with a smirk. I remembered why we were talking in the first place. "Teyla, about Everett. He is an old fashioned military guy. I've known him my entire life, he means well." A sour look came over her face. "He can be very harsh and abrupt with his words, trust me, I know, but I'll speak to him."

"Thank you." She said sincerely to me as she walked off. I sighed and rubbed my greasy hands down my pants, and then I headed off to the next rail gun.

* * *

I had finally finished installing the last rail gun. We had ten in total placed all over the city and I was so thankful that I didn't have to yell at anymore stupid Marines. We had about an hour and a half until the Hive ships reached the planet and began their assault. I was making my way back to the control room when I heard someone call out to me.

"Lieutenant Sumner," I turned, seeing Everett walking up to me. "How are the installations coming along?" He asked as he fell into step beside me.

"All finished, sir. I was just heading back to the control room."

"Good. I wanted to know some things about how the Ancients lost the war last time." Everett asked me.

"You'd be better off asking Doctor McKay or Major Sheppard about that, sir. There's a hologram room that we have here that explains it. Those two studied it when we first arrived here."

"Good." He said, "Take me there." He ordered. I nodded and stopped walking as I changed our direction.

"This way, Colonel."

We arrived at the hologram room as I touched the panel gently as the door swung open; I let Everett enter first as he hit his radio. "Major Sheppard, please report to the hologram room, immediately." Everett said. I stood there awkwardly.

"I'll just go then." I said, turning away.

"No, I'd like you to be present here, Lieutenant." Everett ordered as I looked at him. I frowned as I entered the room fully and moved over to one of the corners of the room. As I stared at Everett I was trying to figure out what his motives were but he kept up such a guarded façade that I couldn't figure it out. We waited a few minutes before I heard heavy footfalls as John appeared. He glanced over at me quickly, surprised to see me here as he walked to Everett.

"You wanted to see me, Colonel?" John asked. Everett was gazing around the room.

"Lieutenant Sumner told me I could learn a lot about the Ancients in this room." Everett said.

"We haven't used it much because of the power requirements." John said to him. Everett finally looked at John with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Still, I would like to see for myself how the Ancients lost the first time—to try and avoid their mistakes."

 _The Ancients were immensely smarter then us, what makes you think that you'll be able to defeat the Wraith?_ I thought bitterly to myself.

"Yes, sir. We could do that." John said as he moved over to the control console and places his hand on it. The door next to me closes as the lights dim down, I hadn't actually seen this thing work before so I was a little curious about what I was about to see. Suddenly a galaxy lights up above me, showing hundreds of little blue dots, which I assumed were planets. "This is the status of the Pegasus Galaxy before the Ancients encountered the Wraith. The blue stars represent systems either inhabited or protected by the Ancients. Then," John presses something on the console as I watch as nearly every single dot turns red. I felt my mouth part in awe from watching the display. "This is how it looked after they fought for almost a hundred years." John said as I watched Everett gaze around the room.

"Until Atlantis was all that was left." Everett muttered.

"Yes, sir. That's when the siege began," John said as he pressed another button as the hologram zoomed in on a solar system and then a planet, which I assumed was this one. Around the planet were dozens upon dozens of hive ships that arrived at the planet. "For several year more years, the Atlanteans were able to hold off their attackers, relying on the cities shield and superior weaponry, including the weapons satellite system. No matter how many Wraith ships they destroyed, more kept coming. They could win almost any battle but they saw no way to win the war, so they submerged the city and left." John deactivates the console as the hologram fades and the lights light up the room once more. "That's it. That's the story, but the picture is pretty clear." Johns said, subtly telling Everett that he didn't think we would win this.

"So you think this is a no-win situation?" Everett asked.

"No, sir. What I mean is," he sighed, "even if we beat them this time, they're going to come back." Everett glanced over at me, I kept my expression stony but I was wondered what he was about to say. He looked back at John and I had a bad feeling about what was about to come out of his mouth.

"Major, I think I should tell you that Colonel Marshall Sumner was a very good friend of mine." Everett said as I saw guilt flash across John's face. "We served together a lot of years. You know, I cannot for the life of me figure out how it is that you could go as far as you did and not save him—how you could get that close—"

"By the time I reached Colonel Sumner—" John tried to explain but Everett cut him off.

"Worse, you admit to firing the shot that killed him," Everett pointed over at me, "You killed that girls father." John glanced over at me with a pain-stricken face that only I saw. Right now I wanted to throttle Everett.

"I believe that's what he wanted me to do." John said angrily to Everett. Everett stepped closer to John.

"You knew him that well, did you?" Everett looked at me again. "How do you feel, having to see the man that killed your father everyday, walking and breathing?" I had finally had enough, Everett was way out of line, I don't care if he was the current C.O, or my goddamn godfather I was about o give him a piece of my mind. Before John could retort I jumped up onto the platform and pushed my way into the middle of both of them. I shoved John backwards as I faced Everett.

"Don't you dare say anything else." I said darkly. Everett looked stunned for a second then frowned at me.

"Stand down, Lieutenant."

"No!" I retorted. "You have no idea what happened that day!"

"Enough!" Everett yelled at me. I could feel the anxiety off John behind me but I knew he wasn't going to say or do anything.

"No! You are going to listen to me now! Major Sheppard saved all of us; if it weren't for him we'd all be dead by now. As for my father, you weren't there; you haven't seen them, what they can do to you! And you didn't see dad, how he looked, you would've done the same damn thing because I know for damn sure that if I was in Major Sheppard's position I would've done the same thing! So do not stand here and accuse him of anything because you don't know what's it like being out there and facing them. It was almost me that was killed! Dad sacrificed his life to save me because they wanted me! He knew what he was doing the second he stepped in front of me and he knew that he wasn't going to get out of it alive. Major Sheppard did him a favor! I wish there could've been a way to save him but there wasn't, not a day goes by that I don't think of him and wish he were here because then I wouldn't have to deal with your stupid and arrogant attitude!"

 _Fuck me, I'm so dead._ I immediately thought as Everett glared at me. I was shaking I was so furious at him, he stared me down as I did the same. An alarm suddenly blared out through the room as both Everett and John hit their radios.

"Control room." Both John and Everett said. Everett sends John a glare and it's because John is no longer in control but he still tried to take over.

"This is Colonel Everett. Report." Everett said into the radio.

" _Sir, we've just detected a wave of darts inbound."_ I hear a Marine say over the radio.

"I'm on my way," Everett said. He looked at John, "Get to the chair. We'll finish this later," he looked at me. "Your with me." I didn't reply as I watched Everett walk away. I finally turned around to look at John; we only had a few seconds to say anything to each other.

"You shouldn't have done that." John said to me. I shrugged.

"If we live through this I'll deal with it then." I said with a smirk. We both looked at the door, seeing no one there as John quickly enveloped me into his arms. I held him tightly as I pressed my face into his neck and taking a deep breath, putting his scent to memory. He hand brushed through my loose hair as he kissed my temple. We pulled away as he cupped my cheek and drew my face to him. He kissed me hard on the mouth as I gripped his jacket. I pulled away.

"Be careful." I whispered to him.

"Always am." He said, I felt his warm breath on my cheek as he placed a chaste kiss there and then we parted. He gave me one last longing look as he turned and ran from the room. I took a deep, shaking breath as I too ran from the room, heading in the opposite direction up to the control room.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next one we delve right into the action of the Siege and shit starts to hit the fan now. Even though I wrote the mature scene every time I re-read it I find myself blushing oh god haha. Did anyone guess that Everett would be her godfather? FUN FACT: I made Mia be Everett's goddaughter before I even thought about having her be Colonel Sumner's daughter!**

 **Thank you everyone for reviewing and supporting this story!**

 **REPLIES**

 **The Real Sina** \- Zelenka and Carson are my two favourite's to write! Zelenka is just so socially awkward and I love writing Carson as he's just sooo cute and his character development is amazing. Yep we see all that interaction with Ford and Mia very soon I can't wait! She's very strong in this chapter with sticking up to Everett for John as he's such an asswipe. I wish I could upload more often but that means you guys would be waiting longer for me to finish season 2(I'm barely half way right now) as i have to juggle full time studies and part time work, i get very exhausted sometimes that I won't even write for days at a time :( that cliffy = TEARS

 **Adela** \- Yay he said sorry to her! He realises he was an asshole!

 **Guest 64** \- Haha thank you! I've always wanted to know about that scene in the show and I was so happy when I could write my own adaption about it!

 **Parmakia66** \- Yeah as I said last time it was honestly a last minute decision to do it that way and I loved it, and having everyone suspect her as the culprit made me laugh. At least we got some make up fluff here for you ;) It fluctuate's between them as all relationships should! Thank you, i'm glad that everyone is happy with how their relationship plays out and its not all rainbows and sunshine :)

 **Thank you everyone! See you all next week!**


	26. Genesis - Chapter 26

**Hey guys, sorry this is late coming out i've been pretty sick the past few days, so there's no proof reading of this chapter, i'm just posting and I will also answer reviews next week with the next chapter and not this one!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

This had been going on for hours, it reminded me of Afghanistan, the loud explosions, the weapons fire. I got thrown into a trance as I worked on autopilot. My job, according to Everett was to be on call for the rail guns incase they got busted up and needed repairing. I was currently working on one of the rail guns down on one of the piers that had jammed. Marines all around me were firing off their machine guns into the air, it was all so loud I thought my eardrums were going to burst. Darts were exploding here and there; some were performing kamikaze runs into the city. I gritted my teeth as I pushed down on the wrench hard, finally it moved as I unfurled the components and readjusted the gears inside.

"Hurry up, Sumner!" Captain Radner screamed at me.

"It's a lot harder then it looks!" I screamed back as I tightened the gears once more. A dart crashed into the city very close to our position as I felt the vibrations under my feet. "It's done! Go, go!" I screamed at the Marine as he jumped back into the seat and begun firing again. I didn't spare a glance as I ran from the pier. After this one I needed to go up to the one near the control room. Apparently there was a delay with the aiming and I needed to fix it ASAP. I ran as fast as I could, taking a transporter and running up three flights of stairs. As I was running along the corridor I felt a massive explosion on the side of the city as I rocked the tower. I stumbled around and fell onto my knees from the force of it as suddenly all the remaining lights went out.

"Shit." I mumbled as I pushed myself up and sprinted into the control room. I ran up the stairs and saw Everett and Elizabeth with Chuck at the controls. Elizabeth saw me.

"Oh, thank god." She said to me as I looked to Chuck.

"What happened?" I asked him. Chuck seemed relieved that I was here as well. I knew how to repair most of the Ancient systems now.

"We've lost primary systems, the explosion was near that control panel room."

"I'm on it." I said, nodding to both Elizabeth and Everett as I ran down the stairs leading towards the room. As I came to the room I had to shield my face, the window in the room had been blown in and parts of the crashed dart had made their way in and were on fire. Causing other objects in the room to catch fire also. I looked to the large control systems on the back wall as I groaned. Most of them were sparked out as I hurried in and began shutting them all off.

* * *

I spent a good hour in this room, pulling out various crystals and transferring them to try and reroute power to the internal systems. I could still hear the battle going on outside as I flinched every time I heard a dart crash into the city. I looked out of the open window when I heard one of the drones fly past and hit a dart that exploded near me. I looked back to the crystals as I moved a few more and shoved the tray back in. Lights come back on as I sighed in relief. I frowned as I glanced out the window once more; it was silent outside. I hurried over and stuck my head out and looked around. Parts of the city were on fire and smoking heavily but the sky was clear as the pre-dawn light was creeping over the horizon. I couldn't believe it, we had managed to hold them off for now. A grin spread over my face as I headed back up to the control room, I had done all that I could down here. Rodney would have to finish my work, and I needed to know what systems I had managed to get back online and the ones that I hadn't. As I walked up the stairs, I passed by a few Marines, some were injured and others looked exhausted. I know I probably looked like shit, I was tired and hungry and I had been doing nothing but running around and repairing large guns and control systems. My stomach growled as I climbed up the stairs behind the control room as I came in to see nearly all the important people here. Rodney was walking around with a data pad in his hand as I sat down at one of the computers and began to go through most of the system logs to see which ones I had managed to power back up. Someone sat next to me as I looked over at them and saw it was John, he nodded to me as I sent him a smile. Telling him that I was glad he was ok.

"Power's out in sections of the city. The long range scanners and the internal sensors are down but thanks to Mia's quick thinking she managed to get most of the other primary systems back online, including the Stargate." Rodney glanced over at me as I waved with a grin.

"I want to know the status of the hive ships ASAP." Everett ordered as Rodney sent him a glare.

"They're coming, that's their status! Tomorrow, the day after—the day after that, eventually they'll get here. Whether we're here to greet them or not is another matter." Rodney spat out.

"Rodney…" Elizabeth said in a warning tone for him to calm down.

"Look," Rodney said exasperated, "the chair is out of drones. How do you expect to handle the next wave?"

"I'm open to suggestions." Everett said as I glared at him.

"Really?" Rodney said sarcastically as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"We target the hive ships." John announced from beside me.

"With what?" Everett asked him, loathing in his voice.

"We fly the Puddle Jumper in stealth mode right down their throats." John said as I frowned, he wanted someone to go and kill themselves?

"Are you volunteering for a suicide mission?" Everett asked him, though he didn't sound too concerned about John doing it.

"It won't be a suicide mission if McKay and Zelenka can figure out a way to remote control the Jumpers." John said to Rodney and Zelenka. The two scientists looked at each other with skeptic looks. Everett looks at them both.

"Can you do it?" He asked them.

"I knew this was going to happen," Rodney grumbled under his breath.

"Is that a fact?"

"Yes, it's a fact!" Rodney exclaimed. "Look, you show up here with your guns and your brush cuts, but when it actually comes to saving the city, you turn to the scientists!" Rodney goes to one of the computers and mumbles something under his breath.

"When was the last time you slept, Doctor?" Everett said mockingly as Rodney held up a finger.

"Shut up, I have an idea." Rodney looks at Zelenka.

"The chair." Zelenka says, "Mia already hooked it into the jumper systems."

"Yes and the generators overloaded, if we can somehow create a buffer…" Rodney and Zelenka prattled on as they walked further away.

"Is that a yes?" Everett asked them. Rodney turns back to look at Everett in irritation.

"No, it's a possibly." Rodney deadpanned.

"I'll take it!" Everett exclaimed, he turned to look at John and I, "how much damage can one Puddle Jumper do?" He asked.

"I've got an idea about that too," John said, looking at Elizabeth. "I think I know where we can get another nuke." Elizabeth and I immediately understood what he meant and I wanted to voice my opinion that I thought he was crazy about asking the Genii for help.

"Major, I don't know how sympathetic the Genii will be to our situation." Elizabeth said with apprehension.

"They want to test their weapon, now's their chance." John said.

"Let me pass!" A familiar voice cried out as the four of us hurry over to the balcony. Teyla is below us struggling with two Marines who were holding her back. "I need to talk to Doctor Weir!" She cried out again.

"Teyla? What's the matter?" Elizabeth asked her as Teyla shook off the Marines.

"The Wraith, they are in Atlantis." She told us as John turned around to look at me as I matched his worried expression. Everett suddenly spun around as he turned his gaze to John.

"Major, assemble strike teams. Lieutenant I want you working on getting those internal sensors back up." I nodded to Everett but John spoke up.

"Lieutenant Sumner is one of the best fighters we have, we need her out there dispatching the Wraith." John said. Everett honed in on him.

"With Doctors' McKay and Zelenka working on the Jumpers the only person capable to fix those systems is Sumner, now, assemble those strike teams." Everett said as John gritted his teeth but nodded and hurried away.

Chuck handed me the data pad as I sat down underneath the internal sensor machine and began clicking away and hooking it up to the tablet. I didn't even know how long I had been awake for now, all I knew was that I was tired and hungry, Chuck managed to get me a power bar as I scoffed it down quickly and then resumed my repairs. I could hear the teams heading out to go and track and eliminate the Wraith from below and then Elizabeth came and walked over to me, she crouched down next to my head.

"How's it coming?" She asked me. I sighed.

"Some of the circuits have been fried. When the power went out, just as the dart crashed into the room it created a massive power surge that went through some of the systems. I'm going to need to replace the damaged one's and try and find a way to reroute some power around minor systems."

"Do what you can." Elizabeth said to me as I nodded and asked Chuck to fetch me the replacement circuits.

* * *

It was a short while later when Elizabeth dialed up the gate to the Genii homeworld; I listened as I continued my repairs. She told them how the Wraith were here and that she would offer them as much C4 as they needed to build their bombs. It disengaged as I heard a familiar beep.

"We've got internal sensors back up." Chuck said. I clambered up from underneath the console as I looked at the screen and frowned.

"Only in the control room, let me try…" I mumbled as I ducked back under again. I hooked up the data pad and rerouted some more power from systems that we didn't exactly need right now. It beeped again as Chuck whooped.

"They're back online." Chuck said as I sighed and fell back onto the floor. I could hear Chuck talking to the strike teams telling them where the Wraith are as suddenly the Stargate activated. I jumped up and hurried over to the control panel and activated the shield.

"Doctor Weir we have an incoming Wormhole." I said into my radio.

" _On my way."_ Came her reply. The Wormhole established as Chuck notified me that we were receiving a radio transmission.

"Record it." I told him. After it was sent the Stargate shutdown and Elizabeth came walking up the stairs. Chuck met her.

"We just received a response from the Genii." He told her.

"Let's hear it." Elizabeth said as I joined her next to the console as Chuck played the message back.

" _This is Prenum of the Genii. We welcome the opportunity to open a dialogue between our two people. Send you representative, one person—unarmed."_

"Is that all?" Elizabeth asked Chuck as he nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Colonel Everett," Elizabeth said into her radio, "this is Weir. As we hoped the Genii have asked us to send a representative. I'm set to go."

" _I can't imagine anyone more qualified. Pull this off, and I'll buy you a drink."_ Came Everett's reply.

"You got a deal," she looked at Chuck, "dial the gate." She walked off as I caught up to her.

"Doctor Weir." I said to her as she stopped. "I'm coming with you." I said to her. Elizabeth shook her head.

"They asked for one person."

"I'm not letting you go alone." I said with a frown. She pursed her lips.

"They might kill you." She said, trying to deter me.

"They can try. I'm not letting you go to the Genii alone, Elizabeth. I know what they're like." She seemed to think on it as the gate connected. "It's your decision." I said to her.

"Let's go." She said as I nodded and unstrapped my side arm and removed my vest and p-90. I handed them to a Marine as Elizabeth and I stepped through the gate.

* * *

We emerged onto the planet as we were both immediately grabbed from all sides. I didn't resist, I didn't want to give them a reason to kill either one of us.

"We said one person!" The Genii on my left exclaimed as I glared at him.

"You did, we're a package deal." I snapped back. "I wont hurt you if you don't hurt her." I said threateningly to them as I saw Elizabeth watching me with wide eyes. I know she was worried that I was going to get myself killed.

"Take them both to Prenum, he can decide what to do with them." Another Genii man said as our hands were then bound behind our backs and a cloth was tied around my eyes. My vision went dark as the Genii marched us forwards.

We were taken underground, I knew tat because they made us climb down a ladder, blindfolded I might add. I hit the ground as I was taken into Genii hands once more.

"Doctor Weir?" I called out.

"I'm here." She replied to me, as we were taken deeper into the complex. I listened out for any threatening noises, like guns cocking or the sound of someone going to attack me. My ears were prickling with every sound that I heard around me. I could hear Elizabeth's deep breathing behind me, she was nervous. They stopped us as I heard a large metal door open and we were both brought inside the room. I was thrust into a hard chair and I heard Elizabeth next to me grunt as she was forced into her chair also. We waited for a few seconds, the door closed.

"Doctor Weir. I am Prenum of the Genii. I'm rather surprised," Prenum chuckled, "no, astonished that you would have the audacity to come here. And break the one rule we gave you."

"You must have heard of Mia Sumner, she's not exactly fond of you guys and wouldn't let me come alone."

"Yes we know of her." Prenum said bitterly, I had a sneaking suspicion that Prenum must have been Genii that I attacked on our visit here.

"You heard our message. The Wraith our at our doorstep."

"And we are understandably delighted at the prospect of your demise." Prenum said cheerfully. I frowned.

"That may be so. But, sill we have something that you want." Elizabeth said to him.

"C4." Prenum said in a hateful tone.

"More then that. We have an opportunity for you to test your weapon, at no risk to yourselves, and a chance to strike at the Wraith. You have no idea how close they are." Elizabeth said, I could hear a smirk in her voice as I sat there silently.

"The Wraith have come, Doctor," Prenum said sadly, and I couldn't help it but I grinned, I wasn't exactly disappointed. "Six days ago. Fortunately, we detected their approach, and we were able to shut down our reactors in time. Hundreds of lives were lost on the surface, but thousands more were saved because our underground complex went undetected."

"Maybe everyone could've been saved if your guys hadn't been such assholes to us in the first place." I snapped at him. I heard Prenum chuckle.

"The threat to the Genii has come and gone. So far as the Wraith are concerned, this planet is no longer of interest to them. We have the design the Doctor McKay provided for us, and our prototype bombs are nearly complete."

"So then why ask me to come here?" Elizabeth asked. I heard Prenum walk closer to Elizabeth as I struggled against my restraints.

"So that we may trade the C4 for your lives." I heard Elizabeth suck in a deep breath as I glared roughly in the direction of Prenum.

"You asshole. The Wraith are going to figure out sooner or later that you are still here, and when that happens, I'll be sitting back watching as this whole complex goes up in flames."

"You joke about it now but some of the Genii are rejoicing at the fact that we have you both in custody. A man by the name of Kolya almost returned from his mission after hearing we have you in custody." Prenum said as I felt my stomach drop.

"I have already offered you the C4." Elizabeth cut in.

"And you want our prototype weapons in exchange. That's not a bargain for the Genii."

"What would you do if you had the C4 right now? Incorporate it into your weapons?"

"Yes," Prenum replied bitterly.

"And you would test them?"

"Of course."

"I am offering you the chance to test your weapon design on a Wraith hive ship at no risk to your own people, and still have enough to build dozens more! Now if you are too proud or too stupid to see the—"

"Be careful, Doctor." Prenum said warningly.

"I am way past careful! Now you know what the deal is, and it's a damn good one, so take it or leave it!" She yelled at him as I waited with baited breath.

"Very well." Prenum said as I let out a sigh of relief. The cloth was removed from my eyes as I looked around the room and let my eye readjust to the light here. Elizabeth glanced over at me as Prenum spoke into his radio on his wrist, ordering his men to bring two prototypes to the gate.

The large doors opened once more as Genii streamed in, I backed away from them, glaring but they circled and cut the roped that bound my hands together.

"Please," Prenum said as I did actually recognize him as one of the men I had disarmed the last time I was here, "follow me back up to the surface."

* * *

We stepped through the Stargate and back into Atlantis, the two Genii following behind with the prototypes. I felt relieved to be back home, when Prenum had told us about his plans I was worried that I'd never see this place again. Although, I still might never see it again if this plan doesn't work or when John finds out that I went to the Genii home planet unarmed. I was not looking forward to that conversation. Elizabeth told Rodney that she had the weapons and she dismissed me, after thanking me for going with her. I collected my things from the same Marine I had given them too as I headed out of the control room to head to the mess hall to get some dinner and a few hours of sleep. I was dragging my feet across the floor as I rubbed at my eyes and yawned loudly. I couldn't wait to hit my bed and pass out. As I was walking I suddenly felt something grab my upper arm and drag me into one of the alcoves. I wasn't surprised when John pinned me against the wall.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He hissed at me. I shrugged.

"I didn't want Elizabeth to go alone."

"So you went unarmed? What if Kolya had been waiting on the other side? He would've killed you." He said to me. I bit my bottom lip.

"I came back, didn't I?" I said to him. John sighed.

"From what Elizabeth told me you almost didn't." He said. I rolled my eyes at him, which didn't impress him.

"John, I'm safe. We got the prototypes, yes I should have concealed something but if they found any kind of weapon what do you think they would've done?" He didn't say anything, knowing that I meant they probably would've killed me had they found something. John pulled me into his arms as I wrapped my arms around him.

"When they told me you had gone there, I was livid, I didn't know if you were going to come back. I told myself that if you did come back I was going to beat your head against the wall to hopefully bang some sense into you." He chuckled.

"You could always bang me in some other way." I said slyly as John laughed.

"Only you would think of that in a time like this." He joked as he pulled away from me; I felt a shiver come over me as I yawned again.

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked me. I shook my head.

"I was heading there now." I said to him.

"Let's go." He said as he kissed me quickly. I didn't protest about being seen together in the mess hall, no one was going to care right now.

* * *

I was only asleep for two hours when my radio buzzed in my ear. I jumped awake, rubbing my face, which had gone numb from sleeping face down on my bed.

"Sumner." I said tiredly into it as I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I still had all of my gear on, including my shoes.

" _Lieutenant Sumner, we need your assistance with some maintenance repairs with the rail guns."_ A voice said in my ear as I rubbed my face once more and yawned.

"On my way." I said mid yawn as I clicked my radio and stood from my bed and stretched. John wasn't with me, we thought it was best with all the Marines and Everett here that it was too risky to be seen together so we had each gone to our own rooms. I went into my bathroom and turned on the sink as I quickly splashed water onto my face to wake myself up. As I dried my face with the towel I gazed at my own reflection, seeing the dark purple bags under my eyes, my skin was extremely pale from my lack of sleep and my hair was limp around my shoulders. I sighed as I headed out to the control room.

I arrived and saw Radner waiting for me. He walked over to me. "Rail guns three, six, seven and ten need to be looked at." I nodded.

"Affirmative, I'll see to it all now." I said as I waved at him and walked off to the first location. As I walked through the corridors I could see all the injured soldiers and Athosian's being tended to out here. The infirmary must be jam packed with all the casualties; Carson must be worked to the bone right now.

I spent nearly six hours repairing the rail guns, my arms were aching and my head was pounding, I needed sleep desperately. Those measly two hours that I had did nothing for me; they didn't even give me an energy boost. After I finished the final rail gun I slumped down the wall in a nearby corridor and tucked my knees up to my chest and rested my head on them. I was so tired; I just needed a quick sleep.

" _This is Everett."_ I jumped in surprise at hearing his voice over the comms, as suddenly I was wide-awake. " _Jumper four has just informed us the Wraith hive ships are approaching the planet. Defense team to your positions."_ I groan and steadily get to my feet, I was walking to the control room to ask Everett where he wanted me when I heard another voice over the comms system.

" _This is Weir. Now I know how tired you all are, and how much we have asked of you these past few days. Hopefully the Daedalus will arrive soon, but until that happens our fate is in our own hands. If, during the course of this battle, our mission fails, I will give the order to evacuate. Now we all hope it wont come to that. But if it does, don't hesitate. That is all."_ Elizabeth said as the radio went dead. I stopped walking and looked around me, there were soldiers running all around, barking our orders to get to their positions as Scientists stood huddled together holding their weapons looking petrified. One Marine bumped into me as I recoiled back, but I didn't mind. I took one more look at the scared scientists as I hurried on to the control room.

Everett and Elizabeth were talking as I approached them. "Where do you want me?" I asked Everett as he glanced over at me.

"Defend the Chair room. Major Sheppard is our only hope of defeating these Wraith, protect him with your life." Everett ordered.

"Yes, sir." I said to him. I glanced over at Elizabeth as she gave me a weak smile as I spun around on my heel and quickly hurried over to one of the transporters and took it to the chair room.

When I arrived Rodney was typing away on the computer connected to the control panel, John wasn't here yet. "What are you doing here?" Rodney asked me when he saw me.

"I'm here to defend both of you." I explained to him just as John came running into the room. He faltered for a second when he saw me here but recovered and jumped into the chair. I hit the safety off my gun as I stood at the entrance to the room.

" _Sheppard are you ready?"_ I heard Elizabeth say over the radio. I glance over my shoulder at them, John is looking at Rodney as the scientist is frowning and working away furiously at the console.

"Rodney?" John calls his name as Rodney looks over his shoulder at him.

"The generator's not powering up like it should be!" Rodney yelled as he ran over to the generator. He motioned for me to go to the console as I hurried over and accessed his computer.

" _They're sending in another wave! Major, we need to go!"_ Elizabeth yelled through the radio as I hear the gunfire all around me. I flinched when I heard an explosion near us as I continued my work on the laptop. I could hear Rodney trying to get the chair working.

"McKay!" John hollers.

"There's something wrong! Power levels are dropping!" Rodney says as the screen on the laptop informs me that the Mark Two is practically dead.

" _Rodney, nothing is happening!"_ I hear Zelenka in my radio. My heart starts to pump faster and I begin to hear the beating in my ears as I look over at John desperately.

" _Why are there no Jumpers in the air?"_ Elizabeth calls out.

"We must have exhausted the Mark Two's energy output. It's dead." Rodney informs us as I held my head in my hands. We were screwed, royally screwed. John and I met gazes as I saw in his expression that he knew we were doomed. I turned back to the laptop and began to work at it, hoping somehow I could magically bring it back online.

"There's got to be a way to…Major!" Rodney screaming caught my attention, I looked up just in time to see John dart out of the room as I look to Rodney, and the look on his face says everything. And then I realize what he's going to do; he's going to pilot one of the Jumpers. As Rodney turns his back I sprint from the room, I can hear John's footstep ahead of me as I catch up to him. I was the faster runner here. I catch him just as he reaches a set of stairs.

"John!" I call out, not caring if anyone is around. "Don't do this!" I cried. He stops and turns on the stairs to face me.

"It's the only way." He says to me. I shake my head; I could feel the tears building up and the tightness in my throat.

"You can't leave me!" I sob. John looked torn as I wiped at my eyes furiously. He hurried down the stairs and quickly planted a hard kiss on my lips. I pressed myself against him, holding him to me, never wanting to let him go. My own tears streamed down my face as his hands caressed the sides of my face. He pulled away slowly, his warm breath ghosting over my face as his hazel eyes gazed into mine.

"You're the best damn thing that's ever happened to me." John said lovingly as I broke down. He kissed me one more time as my hands slipped through his clothes. Before he reached the top I called out once more.

"John!" He stopped, turning to look at me. "I love you." I said to him. He looked stunned for a second and then he smirked at me.

"I know." He replied as he disappeared. I felt a strong ache in my chest as I clamped my hand over it and sunk down to the floor in a watery mess. I sobbed loudly and uncontrollably as I banged my fists on the floor. Why did I let him leave! I should have gone with him! Why does everyone I ever care about leave me? Why me? What did I do that was so terrible that can cause this much heartbreak? He was gone; he had left me, just like Liam, just like dad, like my mother.

Movement out of the corner of my ear made me jerk my head in the direction as I swore loudly. "Shit!" I rolled out of the way as a Wraith stunner went flying by my head. There were three Wraiths bearing down on me as I pushed myself up onto my feet and behind a pillar. They continued to fire at me as I tried to control my breathing. I pulled out a flash bang from my vest as I unclipped it and threw it down the corridor. I clamped my eyes shut as I heard the bang and then spun around. I fired everything I had into those bastards that had caused this mess. Two of them had been taken by surprise as I quickly dispatched them, the last Wraith ducked to the side as my p-90 ran out of bullets. I had to duck down to avoid a stunner; in my anger-fueled rage I hurled the p-90 at him. "I am so not in the mood for this!" I screamed as I took out my handgun and fired off all of my shots into his chest. He screeched and continued to fire at me, I reloaded my handgun and dived to the floor and emptied the last of my bullets into him as he fell to the ground, hissing as he went. I breathed a sigh of relief as I lay back on the floor and then started to laugh hysterically.

* * *

" _Attention everyone, please proceed to the Stargate! We are evacuating! I repeat; we are evacuating!"_ Elizabeth said over the comms as I pushed myself into a sitting position. The control room was just above me as I heard the Stargate activate as I left my empty weapons on the ground and headed up the stairs. I wiped my eyes from any lasting tears that had been shed as I approached Elizabeth. She was staring at a screen as Rodney appeared from behind me. Carson comes running up the stairs.

"We can't stay here, Elizabeth." Carson said to her.

"He's right, they're beaming in all over the place." Rodney said; I could hear gunfire all around us. The Wraith was drawing nearer to us.

"We're not going anywhere—not yet." Elizabeth said to Rodney as she turns and looks at the large screen again. I look over at it and see the shape of the two hive ships, with little red dots flying all over it, then one small blue one ascends towards them. I feel my throat tightening once more as I slowly back away, I didn't want anyone to see me if I cried. I couldn't cry, but John was going to die, if they found out now I don't think it really mattered anymore.

" _You know, if this works, somebody might have to do it again,_ " John said as hearing his voice tore me up inside as I clamped a hand over my mouth to stop me from sobbing.

"Understood." Elizabeth replied sadly. I knew full well that I would be the person taking up that second Jumper if it worked.

"You let Sheppard fly that Jumper?" Rodney said in shock as he looked at Elizabeth. I couldn't see her expression, but I knew she was bound to doubt herself.

"Help me arm the self destruct in case this fails." Elizabeth says as she spins around to go to one of the laptops. I turn around and walk further into the control room; I didn't want anyone to see me as I held my face in my hands. I can hear the sounds of their codes being put into as the alarm blares through the city, making me flinch.

" _They haven't detected my approach. Weapon is armed and ready. I'm going in."_ Those were the final words that John said as I slowly slumped down on the stairs that led to the Jumper bay. I wasn't crying, I was just numb.

"Detonation in five, four, three, two…one." Rodney said as I hung my head down. He was gone.

"Target has been neutralized." Chuck said.

"He did it." Elizabeth said, I could hear the emotion in her voice as she spoke; she was upset about John dying also. I wiped my eyes as I saw Rodney looking over at me quickly. I averted my gaze, I didn't want him to see me cry. I heard an alarm beeping.

"Doctor Weir, I'm picking up another ship," Chuck said as I looked back at them.

"Another hive ship?" Elizabeth asked in concern.

"Negative. I'm reading I.F.F." Chuck replied. I didn't register what that meant when the comms crackled.

" _Atlantis this is Sheppard."_ I felt my breath leave me in one swoop as I jumped up from the stairs.

"John?" Elizabeth exclaimed, looking around at all of us.

" _What other Sheppard's do you know?"_ I couldn't believe it was him, it wasn't, he had died taking out the Wraith ship, I was imagining this.

"Oh, thank God!" Beckett cried out in relief.

"No, no that can't be, we saw the hive ship go up." Rodney said in disbelief.

" _I assure you, Doctor McKay, that Major Sheppard is alive and well."_ An unfamiliar voice said to us as I frowned. But wait; was John actually alive? I couldn't wrap my head around it; John was alive.

"Who is this?" Elizabeth asked, guarded.

" _Colonel Steven Caldwell, commander of the Daedalus. We are ready to assist you."_ Caldwell said to us.

"Oh, thank you!" Rodney said in relief as he slumped into the nearest chair and put his head down. Once the shock had worn off on me it finally dawned on me that we were going to be ok, John was alive and we now had a ZPM.

"We are very glad to hear it, Colonel." Elizabeth said as she moved over to the laptop and entered her code in to disable the self-destruct. "And I assume we have you to thank for saving Major Sheppard."

" _We were monitoring your transmissions as soon as we came out of Hyperspace. We couldn't beam him in until he de-cloaked his Jumper."_ Caldwell explained.

" _Didn't take much convincing."_ John said as I broke out into a grin.

" _Doctor McKay?"_ Caldwell said, jolting Rodney up, as he stood straight, like he hadn't just fallen asleep on the console.

"Present, yes." Rodney said.

" _I'll trust you'll know what to do with this?"_ Caldwell said as the four of us looked confused. A bright beam of light appeared on the balcony as two Marines suddenly appeared holding a metal box.

"Your ZPM, sir." One of the Marines said as Rodney practically ran over to them. I was beaming, this was amazing, we were going to get through this.

"How did they do that?" Carson asked in amazement, pointing at the Marines. Rodney was opening up the box and examining the ZPM with a large grin.

"Well, the Daedalus is loaded with Asgard technology. The beaming technology's the first part of it. They've got things like—"

" _Rodney! What say we get the shields back up?"_ John cut off his rambling as Rodney held up the ZPM.

"Yeah, what say we?"

"We still have Wraith all over the city." Elizabeth said into her radio.

" _After we deal with this other hive ship, we'll assist you as soon as we can. Caldwell out."_ The radio went silent. I looked to Rodney as he shoved the ZPM back in the box and hurried over to one of the computers while radioing Zelenka to get down here from the Jumper Bay. Elizabeth was speaking to the Marines and leading them down to the stairs as I headed over to one of the Armory bins and grabbed another p-90 and walked up to Elizabeth and the two Marines.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa. What is this? This is my security detail?" Rodney said in outrage.

"Well, we are spread a little bit thin right now." Elizabeth explained to him as Rodney rolled his eyes. I nudged him lightly.

"Don't worry, you got me Rodney."

"Great, Lieutenant psycho," Rodney turned to the Marines, "Ok, you need to know that if we come under fire, you're going to have to put your life on the line to protect me."

"Rodney!" Elizabeth chastised him with a stern look.

"I mean the ZPM. You need to protect the ZPM at all costs…and me," he said as the four of us began to move out, Rodney glanced over his shoulder at Elizabeth, "Am I wrong?" He said to her as Elizabeth shook her head at him.

* * *

 **Thank you everyone! Again i'll reply to all your reviews next weeks as i'm not able to this week. Hope you all enjoyed!**


	27. Genesis - Chapter 27

**Hi guys! Thank you all for your well wishes, I am healthy once more and back to my old self! So this one is on time this week yay and I'm glad you all enjoyed last weeks intense chapter! This one is a bit calmer but I can't wait for you all to read it! Remember to let me know what you all think and enjoy!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

I led our small team as we moved through the corridors of Atlantis, sticking to the corners and watching each other's backs for any Wraith nearby. Rodney is whimpering quietly behind me as we come nearer to the place where we had to go. For some reason the lights were out in this section of the city, I held up my hand to slow our party down as the Marines and I went on high alert as I raised up my p-90 and scanned in front of us. We were by some rather large boxes from Earth as I heard something in the room ahead. I held up my fist as a signal for us to stop as the four of us ducked down, one of the Marines pushed Rodney down as I peeked over the top of the box. I spotted two Wraith drones looking through some Ancient panels and pulling things out, which explained the lack of lights in this area. I looked round to the two Marines, they are waiting for my command. We needed to get rid of them as quickly as possible; I didn't have any flash bangs like the last time so I settled for being the diversion.

"Wait for my signal." I whispered to them as they nodded and I crouched walked around the large pillar in the room. I straightened up as I peeked around the pillar, seeing the two Wraiths still oblivious to us. I rolled my eyes at the plan I had in my head. I then walked towards them and whistled, catching their attention. The two Wraiths jerked their heads to look at me as they moved towards me, aiming their stunners. Thankfully the two Marines weren't complete idiots and open fired on them both as I sighed in relief as I watched them go down together. I walk back to Rodney and the Marines with a grin on my face. Rodney was looking at me like I was crazy.

"You are a psycho." He muttered. I laughed and noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye.

"Get down!" I screamed, tackling Rodney as a stunner flew by and hit the Marine who had been standing directly beside me. Another shot went off as the second Marine went down, Rodney was whimpering once more as I looked around for my gun. I spotted it out in the open by the Marine as I swore. I tried to reach out for it but a stunner almost hit my hand as I wrenched it back.

"Here," Rodney said, handing me his handgun. I took a deep breath as I turned, pushing myself out as I caught the Wraith drone by surprise and took him down. Rodney breathed a sigh of relief as we both stood up, he was still clutching the ZPM box as I heard footsteps and groaned when another Wraith came into view. I looked at the handgun and saw that it was out of bullets. I glared at the Wraith.

"You're like cockroaches!" I screamed at him as I threw the gun to the side and pulled Rodney down as he fired.

I was shocked when I heard p-90 fire as I heard the Wraith go down. Rodney and I both jumped up and were shocked to see Teyla walking to us.

"Doctor McKay, Mia, are you both alright?" She asked us as I chuckled at her as she handed me her handgun.

"Teyla!" Rodney said disbelief, "We thought you were…" Implying that everyone thought she was dead as no one had been able to contact her.

"My radio was broken and I was separated from my group. I have been trying to make my way back." She explained as I picked up my own gun from the floor and took the Marines' ammo.

"Well, thank God. I thought we were going to—"

"You were both very brave." Teyla said to us, Rodney took it to heart as he looked at her with stars in his eyes.

"Really?" I rolled my eyes at him; I did save his ass from getting stunned as well. Teyla looked at the box Rodney was still clutching in wonder. "Oh, I have a ZPM." He said to her as Teyla grinned.

"Yes."

"This may get the shields up," Rodney stated obviously.

"Lead the way," Teyla told him as Rodney took a step then looked back to us both.

"Uh, after you two." He said to us both as Teyla and I shared a look and ran down the corridor.

* * *

We reached the power room as Rodney hurried over to the ZPM console and set down the box, taking out the ZPM carefully as Teyla and I watched him. He was very carefully placing the ZPM into the slot when both of our radio's buzzed.

" _Rodney we need the shields up in forty seconds or we're dead!"_ Elizabeth yelled desperately into the radio. I look at Rodney, as he seems to be thinking they are joking.

"What are you kidding me?"

" _No!"_ Elizabeth replies.

"Because I can't help but think you're just trying to determine the point at which I completely snap." Rodney replied.

"Rodney!" Both Elizabeth and I snap at him as he glares as me as he gently places the ZPM at the top of the slot. It lights up as I grin and watch him run around to the console behind it.

"That should do it! Fire it up." He said to them as he pressed a few buttons on the console.

" _That didn't do it!"_ Elizabeth spoke as Rodney looked up in confusion.

"What?"

"It is not working?" Teyla asked, she didn't really know what was going on as she didn't have a working radio.

"I know what she said!" Rodney replied as he ran back around to the ZPM.

" _Twenty seconds!"_ Elizabeth called out.

"Ok, snap! That's it, you all happy now!" Rodney snapped as I wanted to club him around the back of the head.

"Fix it, Rodney, or we'll all going to die!" I yelled at him as Rodney pressed down on the ZPM, I was worried he was going to break it but breathed a sigh of relief when it started to move down.

"Ok, ok, okaaaaay. Try it now!" Rodney yelled as it reached the bottom and he runs back to the console. The three of us were waiting on baited breath for the annihilation but it never came. Did it work? It must have, we are still here.

" _Rodney, you can take the rest of the day off."_ Elizabeth said with humor as Rodney slumped down in relief, groaning as he went. He laid flat on his back as he clasped his hands on his chest and shuts his eyes. I rub my face as I lean back on the power console and chuckle.

"I am going to curl up in bed, with the largest sandwich I can find." Rodney said sleepily as I smirked.

"Shall I just explain to the rest of the Wraith left on the base that you are unavailable to fight?" Teyla said sarcastically as I walked round to meet them. Rodney opened his eyes in understanding.

"Right," he said as Teyla helps him stand up. I nudge him gently.

"Nice work, Rodney." I say to him as he nods in the condescending manner he always does as the three of us run off.

* * *

Teyla and I worked together with a life signs detector and went around some parts of the city, taking out Wraith as we went along. In the end we dispatched around five Wraith and notified the command who told us that they have the sensors back online and that there are no more Wraith life signs in the city anymore. Teyla and I are walking back to the control room, I yawned and ran a hand through my knotted and dirty hair.

"I cannot wait to have a shower and then sleep for an entire week." I said to Teyla as we came up a flight of stairs.

"I as well. Although I am eager to get some pain medication from Doctor Beckett, I received a nasty blow from one of the Wraiths." Teyla said as she rubbed her jaw. I patted her on the shoulder as I nursed my own aching bones. I was actually pretty impressed with myself, I had gone through this entire battle without getting a single gash, bullet wound or head wound, Carson was going to be so proud of me. I voiced this to Teyla as she chuckled at me. We came to the point where she was going to divert to the infirmary, me? I was going to hunt John Sheppard down and beat the absolute shit out of him. Teyla bid me goodbye as I watched her leave towards the infirmary.

"Mia," I heard footsteps behind me and a familiar voice as I turned quickly. Before my very eyes was John. All the anger about him going on that suicide mission left me as I found myself coming to tears once more at the sight of him. His face only held one emotion, relief. I couldn't wait any longer; I launched myself at him. I dropped my gun as it clattered to the ground loudly as I ran to him. Tears were flowing down my cheeks freely as I was just so happy to see him alive; I truly thought he had died. As I reached him he held his arms out as I jumped and wound my arms and legs around his body, latching myself onto him. I didn't care if anyone saw us, to hell with it. I was just ecstatic that he was here. I cried into his shoulder as his arms held me to his body as I felt him nuzzle my neck with his face. He kissed my neck tenderly as I held him so tight I thought we were going to become one person. I never wanted him to leave me; he had become a person who I loved. The memory returned to me of me telling him that I loved him as I felt my face flush with embarrassment. And then I got annoyed, I jumped away from him, like he had burned me as I stepped away from him.

"What's wrong?" He asked. I frowned at him, hearing his voice though; it was like music to my ears. I punched him hard in the chest. He grunted and bent over.

"That's for quoting Star Wars you asshole!" I yelled at him as John grinned. "I tell you I love you and you say, 'I know,' you're meant to say it back!" John chuckled as I punched him in the chest again, not as hard as last time though. "That's for leaving on a suicide mission!" I said. "And this…" I said as I gripped his face in my hands and pulled him to me. Our lips met in a passionate kiss as he wound his arms back around me, dipping me back. It felt like years since I had kissed him, I never thought I'd be able to but here I was. And I was never letting him go again. I felt the familiar warmth spread through me at his touch and caress as I pulled away slowly. "That was for coming back." I whispered to him. John smirked at me as he pulled me in for another kiss as I lost myself in it. Neither of us cared if someone saw us, we were both happy that each of us was alive and safe. After a few minutes John pulled away slowly as he brushed my cheek with the back of his hand.

"There's something you should know." John said as I frowned.

"What?" I asked him. I could see the worry on his face as it had me concerned.

"Ford's missing," he said as I gasped. No, this couldn't happen. "That's not all," he spoke again, what else could there be? "Everett was attacked. He's in the infirmary, he wants to see both of us." John said.

* * *

John and I arrived at the infirmary as we both walked in together, it was pretty packed in here, all the beds were full and I could see Carson zipping around the room with his staff going bed to bed, checking everyone. We walked to a bed that was at the back of the room, as I had to hold in my gasp at the sight of Everett. John said he had been attacked, I though maybe he got stunned or thrown down a flight of stairs but I didn't expect him to have been fed on by the Wraith. His body was very old, his hand shaking on top of his chest as he struggled to catch his breath. John and I both stood at the side of his bed. Everett managed to move his head slightly so that he saw both of us standing there.

"What's the situation?" Everett asked in a weak, old voice. I had to bite my lip.

"We've neutralized the hive ships, activated the shield and we've mustered as many people as we can, making sure there's no Wraith hiding in the shadows." John explained as I stood there silently.

"Good work, Major." Everett croaked out.

"Thank you, sir." John replied.

"They're shipping me out with the next batch of wounded. I want to finish our conversation." Everett muttered as John and I glanced at each other.

"Yes, sir." John said, uncomfortably.

"I…" Everett said as he cleared his throat, "owe you both an apology." He said, shocking John and I both.

"No, sir you don't." John said.

"I think I have a pretty good idea, I would've done the same thing as you did when you found Colonel Sumner. It's what I wanted to tell you." Everett said.

"Well, none of that matters right now, sir," John said, trying to get off the subject.

"I'm trying to say…I wish you had been there for me," Everett mumbled as I bit down on my lip harder. I could feel John beside me, he was unsure on how to handle the situation.

"You're going to be fine, sir, once you get back to Earth—"

"I've said what I've had to say. Get back to work." Everett ordered him as John stared at him for a few seconds, then stepped back and saluted him.

"Yes, sir." John and I both turn to leave.

"Mia, not you." Everett called out in his weak voice as I stepped back to his bed. John sent me a sad look as he headed out of the infirmary.

"Colonel?" I said. He chuckled.

"Out of all the years you've known me, you can call me Dylan." Everett said with a smirk as I tried to smile. "I'm sorry, for the things I said before. You were right, I wasn't there when your father died, I wish I had been but as I told Major Sheppard then, I wish either one of you had been there for me." I didn't say anything; I didn't know what to say so I stood there. Then I reached out for his hand on his chest as I took it in my own. His hand was freezing cold as he gripped mine tight. "Your dad would be proud of you." Everett said as I felt myself smile.

"Thank you, sir." I said to him.

"I want to tell you something that your dad said to me the last day I saw him." Everett said as I nodded for him to continue.

"It was a few years ago, the day you got promoted to Major. I went round to see him and I asked him I said, 'Marshall, how do you feel about little Mia being a Major in the Army?'" I was preparing for him to say that he didn't care, or that he was disappointed. "You know what he said? He said, 'I'm proud of her.'"

"He said that?" I asked him in disbelief. Everett nodded softly.

"You know you're one of the youngest Major's in history."

"Was, sir. And yes I knew that." I said to him, reminding him to the fact that I did get demoted to Lieutenant for my little lapse for one year. Everett 'hmmed', as he pulled his hand away from mine.

"Go and get back to work, I'm sure there's a lot of repairs for you to do."

"Yes, sir." I said, copying John I saluted him as I walked out of the infirmary.

I wanted to go to bed, but I couldn't, Ford was still missing and I had to find him. I headed up to the control room where I spotted John and Zelenka walking up the stairs as I quickly joined them. John gave me a double take, not expecting to see me as Zelenka nodded to me.

"Preliminary count is forty casualties, maybe more. I'm still trying to line up life signs reading with actual people." Zelenka explained as we walked into the control room.

"There are no Wraith life signs?" John asked as Elizabeth appeared from the Catwalk coming from her office.

"The last one was trapped in one of the deeper parts of the city. He died trying to damage the city with one of their grenades." Zelenka said.

"Three of our men were injured. On the bright side, there was no flooding." Elizabeth added.

"Have we been able to locate Lieutenant Ford yet?" John asked as I paid more attention to what they were saying.

"I'm sorry, no. We've searched everywhere in the city. It's possible he may have beamed up into one of the darts," Zelenka said as I felt my breath catch in my throat.

"Let's not make that assumption." John said, he knew how important Ford was to me.

"Major, I'm sorry, we've searched everywhere inside the city."

"Well how about outside the city?" John asked, Zelenka frowned and shook his head.

"I don't understand."

"Expand the sensors, maybe he's in the water." John explained. Zelenka frowned harder.

"Even if that were the case, there's no chance that—"

"I'm not asking you to swim out there, I'm asking you to press a few damn buttons." John growled at him as Zelenka caved as he turned to the computer.

"Even if you're right, I don't see how…" Zelenka trailed off when the screen beeped and zoned in on one life sign out in the water, I looked closer, it said it was human. "Oh my god." Zelenka mumbled. John and I look to Elizabeth; she looks equally as stunned as she activates her radio.

"Colonel Caldwell? One of our men is in the ocean outside our shield, most probably injured. Can you beam him to your ship and then down to our infirmary?" Elizabeth is waiting for a response.

" _Acknowledged, stand by."_ Came Caldwell's reply. I prayed to every single god in the universe to please let that be Ford and to please let him be alive. How cruel was fate. Even though John survived the universe just had to take another person from me, it was like no one wanted me to be happy anymore.

" _Doctor Weir, Major Sheppard, you're going to want to get down here."_ I heard Carson say into the radio. The three of us glanced at each other as we rushed out of the control room and down to the infirmary.

When we arrived I spotted three security officers present as Carson met us at the door. He gave me a weak smile. "He's alive." He said to me as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"How? He was out there for hours?" Elizabeth asked him. Carson sighed.

"We had to pull a Wraith off him."

"What?" John exclaimed.

"It seems that when the Wraith died, he was feeding on Ford."

I gasped. "So he's…" I couldn't say it; Carson would know what I meant. Ford was an old man; the Wraith fed on him and sucked the life straight out of him. To my shock Carson shook his head.

"No, he's fine. He must have died at the very beginning of the process, come see him." Carson motioned to us three as we followed him into the room. "I gave him a mild sedative to help him rest—but he should be dead." Carson said.

"Well, he's a tough kid." John said but Carson frowned at him as I looked down at Ford. He looked the exact same as when I had last seen him, except he had a little scarring under his left eye and he looked really sick.

"Not my point Major," Carson argued, "He was lying face down in the freezing water for over an hour. I don't care ho tough he is."

"What are you saying?" Elizabeth asked.

"We still have no idea how it works, but during the Wraith feeding process, the victim is injected with a special enzyme. It strengthens the human body temporarily and ensure that the heart continues to beat." I pulled a face at Carson's explanation.

"Why would they want to make you stronger?" John asked.

"So the victim doesn't die immediately. The feeding process is so traumatic, without the special enzyme, we shut down far sooner then they like." Carson said as I rubbed my chest.

"They make you stronger so they can take more time to kill you." Elizabeth said in disgust as Carson scoffed.

"Lovely, isn't it? In most cases the enzyme is released slowly into the bloodstream throughout the feeding process. I can only ascertain that the Wraith died quite suddenly and that Lieutenant Ford's system became flooded with it."

"And that's why he was able to survive in the water for so long," Elizabeth realized. Poor Ford, what pain he must've gone through for all those hours, I can only imagine.

"Exactly. The problem is, now the enzyme is breaking down in his system. Eventually there'll be none left."

"Well, that's not good." John exclaimed.

"No," Carson said sullenly, "in fact, I'm quite sure it'll kill him. It's possible his body's become dependent on the enzyme to function."

"So he's pretty much like a hardcore drug addict." I stated to Carson.

"Essentially."

"What's the treatment?" Elizabeth asked him.

"We wean him off it, sneak his body chemistry back to normal incrementally," Carson explained.

"Then we're going to have to get more of this enzyme," John said in disgust. Just thinking about seeing more Wraiths gave me shivers.

"Aye," Carson agreed, "with your permission Doctor, I'd like to harvest it from the Wraith bodies in the morgue. I know it's a wee bit creepy but…" I pulled a face and so did the rest of my company. Our radio's buzzed.

" _Elizabeth. Major Sheppard."_ Came Rodney's voice. Elizabeth sighed.

"Do whatever you have to do," she said to Carson and then hit her radio. "What is it?" She asked.

" _You need to get up here."_ Rodney said as Elizabeth nodded and left the room. John started to follow and then noticed that I wasn't leaving too. I was walking to one of the chairs.

"Not coming?" John asked as I shook my head.

"I'm going to stay with Ford for a little while," I said to him. John nodded, he looked like he wanted to say more but couldn't with so many people around, instead he turned on his heel and left the room. I took a seat and pulled it up to Ford's bed as I sat down and groaned softly. It was nice to finally sit down, I hadn't had the chance to in forever, and I still hadn't slept since that measly two-hour nap I managed to sneak in, however long ago that was. I leant forwards and took Ford's hand in my own, I brushed my thumb over the back of his hand, he was so lucky to be alive, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Ford in my life.

"Mia?" I heard someone call my name as I looked over my shoulder. Carson stood there. "Why don't you go and get some sleep, love?" He said, coming to stand by me and place a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head.

"I'm alright." I said to him, but my voice betrayed me. Now that I was sitting down, a large tidal wave of sleepiness hit me. The stern look Carson gave me made me smile. "I'll only stay for a little while." I told him. Carson gave in and walked off, tending to some more patients.

* * *

Someone shook my shoulder as I jerked my head up from where I had been resting it on Ford's bed. I looked over my shoulder and saw John as I rubbed my eyes. I looked at Ford, who was still asleep as I pushed myself back up into a sitting position.

"How long have I been asleep for?" I muttered, half yawning.

"A little over an hour." John said with a smirk. I rubbed my face and realized that Rodney had called him and Elizabeth up to the control room for something.

"What did Rodney want?" I asked him. John looked around for people but it was pretty vacant in here. He nodded for me to follow him as I stood from the chair, not before giving Ford another glance just to make sure that he was still ok. I followed John out into the corridor as we walked a fair ways, until I realized that we were heading to the south pier. I hadn't been here in a while, so it'd be nice to go out there and sit together. Once we passed the living quarters and we knew that no one would be around John took my hand in his as we silently walked together. We were both exhausted and didn't need conversation at the moment; I was just enjoying the feel of his hand in mine. One thing had been bugging me for a while though, I had told John I loved him, and he hadn't said anything about it. I never thought in a million years that I could ever love someone again but I did, and it was confusing because I would've thought that he felt the same way. I didn't want to ask him about it because whenever a girl does that she always scares the man off. Maybe he wasn't ready yet, I didn't even know I was until the words had come rushing out of my big mouth, but I meant them. I could wait, for him I would.

We came to the door as John waved his hand over the sensor and the door opened. The sun had just barely gone down over the horizon so the sky was still a little orange from the burning star, but higher up the twinkling stars were shining in the darkening sky. John walked over to the little alcove where he had stashed the blankets and life signs detector from last time as he brought them out and laid them down on the floor. He sat down with his back against the small wall as he beckoned me to come and join him. Instead of sitting next to him I laid down on my back as I rested my head in his lap. One of his hands went to my hair as he started to run his fingers through my locks, my eyes shut slowly, loving the feel of his hands in my hair as his other hand took one of mine and rested it on my stomach. I could feel myself drifting off to sleep.

"There's twelve hive ships on their way." John said suddenly as my eyes shot open.

"What?" I asked him, still lying in his lap. I saw him nod.

"It's what Rodney called us up for. Colonel Caldwell, Elizabeth and I decided that we're going to meet them head on and attack." I couldn't speak, but I became furious, I sat up, frowning.

"So one suicide mission isn't enough for you?" I growled at him. He sighed.

"Mia…"

"Don't, 'Mia' me, I had to watch you fly that Jumper off to go and kill yourself and now you decide you're going up against twelve hive ships? Refresh my memory but do we not only have one ship?" I said with a snarky tone.

"Yes we do."

"And explain to me how you think one tiny little ship is going to win against twelve hives, cruisers and about a gazillion darts?" I crossed my arms.

"Well for one it's not a gazillion darts—"

"Not my point!" I snapped. John chuckled with made me even angrier. He seemed to realize this as he looked away quickly.

"Look, we're only going to try and take out as many as we can, after that we'll speed on home before they even know we're there."

"I don't like this, John." I said softly. John looked sympathetic.

"I know, but we have to try." John said. I wanted to roll my eyes, and I wanted to force him to stay here with me, I didn't want him to leave again.

"I know." I agreed. I knew that he would go, I couldn't stop him, and I didn't want to be the person that did. I shuffled myself so that I was closer to him as I threw my leg over his lap so that I straddled him. I held his face in my hands; his stubble tickled my hands as I ran my hands through his dark hair. I kissed him gently on the mouth, his hands settled on my back as he ran his hands up and down. "I almost lost you once," I said as I leant my forehead against his. "You better come back." I said to him. The corners of his mouth pulled up into a smirk as he kissed me tenderly on the mouth.

"Promise," he muttered into my mouth. I pulled away.

"Good, because if you don't, I'll resurrect you and then kill you myself." I said half jokingly as John chuckled. One of his hands came up and caressed my cheek as my eyes slipped shut from the contact.

"I don't know what's scarier? You or the Wraith?" John said as I opened my eyes and gave him a blank look.

"Me," I stated. We both laughed together as I leant forwards and wrapped my arms around his back and leant onto his chest while still sitting in his lap. His arms encased me as I sighed and shut my eyes in contempt. We sat together for a while, but then I had to open my big ass mouth, I hoped I wasn't about to regret what I was about to say. "I meant it, you know," I said to him, lifting myself back up. John looked at me with a slightly confused look. "What I said," I reminded him as I saw the realization flash across his face. John looked like he wanted to say something but he couldn't think of the words. I felt myself smile at his awkwardness. I ran my fingers through his hair as I felt his fingers dig into my back slightly. "I don't expect you to say it. I never even thought I'd ever find someone who I could care about as much as I do you…" I took a deep breath; I could see John staring at me intently. I couldn't see any fear in his eyes or the desperate need to run away from me, which was good. He no longer looked awkward; he was just staring at me. "I love you, John. I think the first time I said it was because of the situation, but after thinking about it for so long now I do mean it." I let it sink in for him, his expression never changed; I was worried that I had broken him. I knew that John and I were extremely similar people, we were both guarded and didn't let many people into our hearts, but as I have always said from the beginning, John Sheppard managed to weave his way through my walls and break them down slowly, and now I was completely in love with him. I grinned to myself. I loved him. It was weird admitting it to myself now, but it didn't feel strange and it didn't feel misplaced. I could see some emotion leaking through his stony exterior, I doubt John had even thought he would find love again, much like myself, maybe he thought no one would ever be able to love him, but I understood everything, better then most people.

"Say it again," he ordered, finally speaking. I felt the corners of my mouth turn up into a grin as I took his face in my hands and kissed him gently. As I pulled back to gaze into his brilliant hazel eyes I spoke.

"I'm in love with you, John Sheppard." He broke out into a grin as he pulled my whole body to him as he kissed me hungrily on the mouth. His fingers dug into my back as I wrapped my arms around his neck and played with the ends of his hair with my fingers. His lips trailed from my mouth and to my jaw and down my neck as I moaned into his touch, his hot hands went under the back of my shirt as my skin tingled from his touch.

"How long until you have to leave?" I asked him breathlessly. John was still kissing my neck and caressing my back as he mumbled into my skin.

"Five hours," he said, muffled. I had on a cheeky grin as I looked down at him.

"Good, take your pants off," I ordered as John looked at me with a sly grin.

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

John and I said our goodbyes once more once out time together was up, and seeing as it was going to take them at least nine hours to get to the armada and I decided now would be the perfect time for me to sleep. So I headed to my quarters for a well-deserved shower and sleep. It took me a while to fall asleep, my mind was running with all these different scenarios of John and Ford but after a while my brain realized that we hadn't slept in god knows how long and finally shut down as I was out like a light.

I could hear someone banging on my door as I groaned and rolled over onto my back, I felt like a train had hit me, my head was ponding as I rubbed my eyes. I felt like I had only been asleep for three seconds before I was getting awoken again. I didn't even glance at my clock as I marched over to my door and opened it, seeing Teyla looking concerned before me made all my frustration disappear.

"What's happened?" I asked her, the first thing that ran through my head was the John and the Daedalus had been taken out.

"You need to go to the infirmary, now." Teyla said as I frowned. This had to be about Ford.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Aiden attacked Doctor Beckett."

"What?" I screeched, that was crazy, why would he do something like that?

"It appears the enzyme is affecting him in a strange way, Elizabeth would like to see you down there." Teyla explained. I nodded quickly.

"Of course, I'll go right now." I said to her. I quickly ducked back into my room and grabbed my sidearm as I strapped it to my leg as I passed Teyla and ran down the to infirmary. Teyla didn't follow me.

I found out I had been asleep for a little over sixteen hours, I couldn't believe it, I had never slept that long before in my entire life, my body must've needed it to recuperate, because now that I was more alert and awake if felt so much energy rushing through me. I hurried into the infirmary and saw Carson and Elizabeth standing a few meters away from Ford's bed. I glanced over at my sedated friend; his was lying flat on a scanner bed as the machine did its job. Carson and Elizabeth saw me approach as they stopped talking and turned to me, I managed to see a nasty purple bruise forming on Carson's throat as I gasped.

"Holy hell, Carson are you alright?" I asked him. Carson nodded.

"I'll be fine, love." Carson said to me as I glanced over at Ford again.

"What's going on? Why is he acting like this?" I asked them both.

"It's starting to affect his brain chemistry," Carson told us.

"There's no way you could've known that, Carson, and it's better this than death." Carson nodded and I fully agreed with Elizabeth.

"We need to be more aggressive, wean him off it quicker than I expected to. It'll be painful and arduous, but I think it may be the only option. I've sedated him, but he should definitely be under secure supervision," Carson explained. Elizabeth nodded.

"I've already stationed a guard at the door."

"And I also requested that Mia be brought down here," Carson said to me as I gave him a confused look, out of the corner of my eye I could see Elizabeth smirking.

"What about me?" I asked. Carson chuckled.

"I've seen you fight, and if Aiden does manage to get loose you may be able to talk him out of an episode, Teyla managed to but he might be more receptive to you."

"My fists are yours to command," I said with cheek as Carson chuckled.

Elizabeth headed out of the infirmary after telling me that the Daedalus has successfully eliminated two of the twelve hive ships, but they couldn't get any more then that as they had somehow figured out a way to block the Asgard beaming technology from beaming the warheads onto their ships. So they were safe and they would be returning in around two hours. I sat by Ford's bed for those two hours, I spoke to him about random things, recalling old childhood memories that we had together, I was hoping that if I did this then maybe it would slow down whatever effect this enzyme was doing to him.

* * *

My stomach rumbled loudly, bringing me out of my daze and alerting me to the fact that I couldn't remember the last time I ate anything. I stood up from my chair and stretched as I headed over to Carson who was helping bandage up a male patients head.

"Carson?" I said to him, he glanced over his shoulder at me. "Is it ok if I go and get something to eat?"

"Aye, love, don't let me stop you, I'm just about to finish here then administer another sedative to Lieutenant Ford, he'll be ok for a little while longer."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit then." I said to Carson as I headed out of the infirmary, as I passed the door I nodded to the SO who was still standing guard at the door. As I walked down the corridor I decided that instead of eating in the mess hall I would take it back to the infirmary, after what had happened to Carson I was afraid of it happening again and Ford accidently hurting someone while under the influence of the enzyme. I was almost at the transporter when I heard something that shook me to my core; the sound of a single gunshot rattled me as I spun around. It had come from the infirmary.

"Ford," I muttered, taking off into a sprint back to the infirmary. I ran as fast as I could, faster then I had ever run before. Before I got to the infirmary I took out my handgun and held it out in front of me, I walked in, checking the corners as I saw the knocked out SO and Carson calming down his workers and patients, I immediately noticed that Ford's bed was empty. "Carson! What happened?" I said to him as I lowered the gun. Carson hurried over to me.

"It was Aiden, as soon as you left he knocked out Troy and took all of the enzyme that I had."

"That bastard!" I growled, "He was waiting for me to leave."

"Aye," Carson agreed, "I wouldn't be surprised."

"I heard a gunshot, did he hurt anyone?" I asked, checking around for any injured people.

"No, he fired it off to scare me, mistake though as it draw you back here, he took off telling no one to follow after him." I frowned as I balled my free fist up. I spun on my heel and was marching out of the infirmary. "Where are you going?" Carson called out to me.

"I'm going after him!" I called back.

"He said no one to follow, who knows what he'll do to ya if he see's you!" Carson tried to persuade me but I was royally peed off.

"He can try!" I yelled to Carson as I ran off.

I headed straight to the armory, I needed to gear up and I thought that maybe it'd be the first place Ford would go to. From what he had just displayed, there was no chance that he'd be staying in Atlantis for much longer. It was a short run the to armory, when I got there I raised my handgun and swung around the corner and into the room. It was empty, I hurried to the racks and got a vest of quickly, taking a few flash bangs and clipping on the p-90 to me. I looked at the stunner weapon but decided against it, Ford was becoming a danger to himself and others around him, and if I couldn't stop him…I didn't want to think about it. A life signs detector caught my eye as I snatched it off the rack, it was the only one left in here and I knew that I would need it to find him. I gazed down at the detector, I went to put it in my pocket when something caught my eye on it, I focused on it as I saw that there was one dot representing me and then to my horror there was one more directly behind me. I spun around, drawing my handgun but what I saw was the butt of a gun before everything went dark.

* * *

 **Ok so did any of you guess that this might happen? And I would love to know what you all think will happen next chapter? All I will say is that next one is action packed with drama, tears, angst, and probably edge of your seat dread! I hope you are all prepared for this rollercoaster! Let me know what you think guys!**

 **Thank you everyone for reviewing and wishing me well I appreciated it a lot! And thank you to all my readers for reading and enjoying, I love knowing you love this story!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you so much!

 **The Real Sina** \- Oh gosh thank you so much, you have no idea how much i appreciate your reviews, they are always so kind. I was always so worried with my mature scene's as this story is the first one I ever wrote one! But thank you so much for the support and encouragement about them, i feel like I'm doing some good in the world hahaha I always knew from the beginning that Mia and Everett would have a showdown once i decided to have her be Sumner's daughter so to finally have it out there is like a breath of fresh air.

I know, I'm so excited when i can start posting season 2 as it's literally so much more action packed and drama filled then this one gahhh I'm not saying anything about Ronon and Ford but honestly for Michael i have a few ideas but i haven't cemented it yet on what i'll be doing. Thank you for your concern, it was funny to me as i wrote about all my stress that i actually get sick the next week xD It's totally ok, i love pleasing all my internet readers!

Totally understandable! Just don't get caught reading the sexy scenes hahaha. ugh since i wrote their parting scene i couldn't wait to post it, honestly its probably my favourite part of this story so far. Im so happy that everyone enjoyed the siege part i was worried it wasn't too action filled :( I just had to put a han solo in there! I felt like it was something Sheppard would do xD though Mia calls him out for it in a classic mia way.

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you so much, I'm so happy you enjoyed it, i hope it wasn't too boring though! Thank you i am feeling much better!

 **Thank you everyone, and prepare yourselves for next week!**


	28. Genesis - Chapter 28

**Oh boy, so everyone this is the last chapter of season 1! This chapter is packed with action and drama and heartache. I know many of you have been dying to know what happens with Ford and now you finally get to see it. I hope i've done the first season justice and please read the message at the end of the chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, favourited this story as without you guys it could never have gotten this far!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis**

* * *

I felt tightness around my wrists when I awoke, my head was splitting open from the headache I had. I managed to open my eyes, seeing that I was in a deserted part of Atlantis. I wanted to rub my head but saw that my hands were bound together by cable ties, the plastic was digging into my skin because of how tight they were, I couldn't move them in any way. My vest was gone and so were all my weapons and radio. Footsteps caught my attention as I looked over to my right and saw Ford walking over to a set of bags by the railing, which I was leaning on.

"What are you doing?" I spoke; my voice was raw and croaky. Ford's head jerked to look at me as I held in my gasp, finally seeing him. On the left side, his whole face was completely different; his left eye was completely black with terrible scarring underneath it. His skin was clammy and sweaty.

"We're leaving Atlantis," he said as I frowned.

"We?" I asked him. He rolled his one good eye.

"Yes, we. We're getting out of here, we don't belong here."

"Yes we do," I said to him. Ford frowned at me and I saw anger on his face that I had never seen before. He shuffled over to me.

"We're leaving Atlantis, I don't want to hear another word from you." He threatened as he took out a bag from inside his rucksack and sat opposite to me. He then started to administer the enzyme to himself as I pulled a disgusted face at him.

" _Ford, this is Sheppard,"_ I heard John's voice over the handheld radio that he had clipped to himself, " _come in Ford? I need you to come back to the control room buddy, we're all going home."_ Ford ignored him, I quickly looked around me, trying to find something that I recognized, I looked down below through the glass railing as I actually recognized where we were, and we were right near the south pier. " _Lieutenant, do you copy?"_ John said. I watch Ford activate the radio.

"You're just afraid of me, Major. You're afraid of what—"

"Sheppard we're near the South Pier!" I screamed as loud as I could. The look Ford gave me was murderous, he hit the radio, turning it off as he put away the enzyme as stalked over to me. I held his stare as he gripped my arms roughly and pulled me to my feet. I whimpered from his harsh grip.

"Why did you do that?" He screeched in my face. He shook my roughly as I tried using my bound hands to push him away from me.

"Ford stop! This isn't you!" I cried.

"This is me, I'm so much better this way, you'll see." He glared at me as he shoved me away; I tripped and fell hard onto my shoulder as Ford collected his bags, he threw them over his shoulder as he turned to me, he took one of my arms again and yanked me off the floor roughly as he began to drag me through the city.

* * *

We stormed through most of the damaged parts of the city, Ford's relenting grip never wavered on my arm and I knew it was going to be bruised from the iron grip he had. I tripped over my feet a few times and stumbled but he kept dragging me along. I was in a lot of pain, my head was aching, I could feel dried blood on the side of my face from where he had hit me and my shoulder was aching badly from when he had shoved me. I had learnt quickly that if I tried to struggle away from him his grip on my arm tightened significantly, so I stopped that. We came to a flight of stairs as Ford began to drag me down them; it was when an idea popped into my head. I didn't really think of the ramifications of doing this as I stuck out my leg, Ford tripped. He released my arm as he went tumbling down the stairs, I almost went with him had I not quickly held onto the railing. His bags went flying as he let out an outraged cry as I spun around and bolted back up the stairs. With blood pounding through my veins and a splitting headache I ran as fast as I could, faster then I ever had in my entire life. I weaved through the corridors, and was running through a dark corridor and I could see the transporter at the end, I was so close when I felt a hard yank on the back of my shirt, I screamed out in fright as I was thrown to the floor, my head cracking against the hard marble as my vision went dark for a second but returned to me. I groaned and then flinched when Ford threw himself onto my body, holding me down. I struggled and kicked, trying to throw him off me.

"Get off me!" I screamed in his face. Ford looked furious as he held my arms down.

"Why can't you see that I'm doing this for us!" He yelled back at me. I mustered all the anger I could as I fueled it into my strength as I managed to rip my hands out of his grasp and whack him across the face, he was stunned for a second as I used the last of my strength to throw him off me. I stumbled up, but didn't get very far when Ford grabbed my ankle and I went tumbling down to the floor again. It jarred my already sore head as I groaned in pain. I felt hands on my shoulders as I was flipped over, I felt my body get pulled up and then I was slammed into the hard wall. I felt an icy cold hand wrap around my throat and squeeze tightly as I tried sucking in air, but I couldn't. My blurry eyes managed to focus on Ford as he glared at me and watched me struggle for air. I kicked my legs out, trying to hurt him but he didn't even flinch. I could feel the burning need for air in my lungs as I tried to scratch at his hands with my bound ones, I felt tears at the corner of my eyes as I tried to scream, I tried to do something but I couldn't. I could feel my head becoming light as my eyes were shutting from the pain and lack of oxygen. I was almost there; I could feel it.

Suddenly, the hand was removed as I collapsed to the floor, sucking in deep breaths and coughing up my lungs I glared up at Ford. He mirrored my expression, then he began pacing in front of me. Suddenly a loud explosion rocked the entire city as I thought that we were being attacked by the Wraith once more, but when I felt no more tremors I was seriously confused, but it didn't stop me from worrying about my situation at hand.

"What is it that he has that I don't?" Ford muttered. He glanced over at me as I frowned in confusion. Ford knelt down to my level as I tried moving away from him, I was terrified of him. He gripped my shoulders hard as I tried struggling away from him. "I've been there the entire time and yet you've never even given me a second glance!" He roared at me.

"What are you talking about?" I croaked out, I was barely able to speak.

"Sheppard!" Ford yelled. And then it all made sense, John had been right. "I've seen the way you two act around each other, I've seen him leaving your room in the morning. Why him?" Ford said as he shook me. I wanted to vomit from the force of it. "Why him?" He repeated again.

"It's not like that," I croaked out.

"Don't lie to me!" he roared. I flinched away; he gripped my chin hard and turned my face to look back at him. "I've always been there for you! It should've been me, but it never was. I had to watch you with that asshole Liam for four years, and when he was finally gone, I thought this is my chance but now you're off screwing Sheppard! Why can't you be happy with me?" Ford said in outrage. I could feel the tears threatening to spill over. I was petrified, I didn't know what Ford was going to do to me, he was acting crazy, I knew it was the enzyme but I had never in all my life been terrified of one person before, I was shaking.

"I'm sorry, Aiden." I muttered, sobbing now.

"Stop crying!" He screamed, I flinched, but it caused me to cry even harder. "You'll see, once we're out of here and by ourselves, you'll see that I'm the only person who can make you happy." I shook my head at him.

"Please, Aiden." I begged him; I didn't want to leave. I saw his expression change, it softened a tiny bit, but not in the way I wanted. I realized that by me begging him he thought that it was an invitation to me wanting him, he was seriously messed up. I saw his eyes look at me lips as his hands cupped my face.

"I just need one…" he trailed off as I shook my head.

"No, Aiden, no!" I cried out, trying to pull my head away from him.

"You just need one kiss and you'll see that we're meant to be together," Ford said. He held my head steady as I continued to try and pull away from him. I watched him lean in and then I felt his lips on mine. I froze, the tears streamed down my face as I felt his lips move against mine. I managed to pull my face away from his, I wanted to wipe my mouth but I couldn't, I could only sit there and cry. "You see? We're meant to be together," he said, he ran his fingers through my hair as I flinched away from him; he tugged on it hard when we both heard a sound from down the corridor. In a second Ford had wrenched me up into a standing position, my stomach turned as I held in my vomit as Ford pinned my arms to my body with one arm and to my horror I felt the barrel of a pistol press against my forehead. I began crying again, I don't think I had actually stopped crying yet. I heard footsteps from the entrance of the corridor and I felt a rush of liberation when I saw John emerge from the shadows. John's expression was unreadable as he held a Wraith stunner on his shoulder.

"Ford, let her go and we can go someplace and talk about this," John said calmly. Ford's grip tightened.

"No." He growled.

"Ford, don't do this," he said to him, "Mia has nothing to do with this."

"She has everything to do with this!" Ford yelled. I felt the gun press against my head harder as I whimpered. The realization flashed across John's face for a split second, he knew. "You think just because you guys fuck around that she belongs to you?" Ford said.

"No, Mia is her own person. Don't take away her free will, look at what you're doing to her," John said.

"I'm freeing her!" Ford bellowed.

"Just let her go," John repeated. I heard Ford scoff behind me.

"If I can't have her, no one can." Ford growled out as I gasped. John looked frightened as Ford dragged me backwards towards the transporter. John muttered something as he raised the stunner. He looked conflicted about shooting me but right down I didn't care if he had to throw knives at me.

"Shoot us!" I screamed, hoping that we would both get taken down. John fired but Ford spun us out of the way. John looked startled as he watched us enter the transporter. I was still crying. "John!" I screamed as the doors slammed shut.

* * *

Ford dragged me through the city once more, this time he held me to his chest as we walked, and well I was half falling so I got dragged along. I couldn't hold back my tears anymore, Ford was going to kill me, he had just said so. He marched through the corridors as I started to recognize where we were. We were heading to the control room but once we got closer we diverted and headed up to the jumper bay. I couldn't struggle against him anymore; I had no energy. I knew I had a concussion from all the blows I had taken, and my windpipe was badly bruised, it felt like I was sucking on nails every time I swallowed. We came into the jumper bay as Ford dragged me around one of the Jumpers. I could hear someone working in one of the Jumpers and to my shock I watched Ford knock out Zelenka with a single punch. I couldn't say anything as he dragged me into the Jumper and threw me into the side chairs in the rear compartment. He hit the cargo bay door button as the door slowly closed, I didn't even try to escape, I wouldn't get far. Ford sat himself into the co-pilot seat.

"Once we're out of here, we'll be safe, we'll be free," Ford muttered.

"I'll never be free with you," I hissed at him, mustering up all my courage to speak. Ford glared at me from over his shoulder as I saw him start to dial the gate. I took in a shaky breath as I felt the Jumper rise on the autopilot sequence. I silently prayed to every god in the universe to be with me, I didn't know what was going to happen to me after this. I looked around the Jumper for anything to help me, I decided I didn't want to just wait around; I was going to get myself out of this. A thought struck me as I spun around and looked up, the emergency release!

"Ford! Stand down that is a direct order!" I heard John's commanding voice from outside the Jumper as I hastily limped to the release. I didn't waste any time, I opened the box and reaching up with my sore arms I pulled the lever down. The cargo bay door went flying off. I glanced over my shoulder; Ford was glaring at me with so much hatred I thought I was about to keel over. He hit the controls, propelling the Jumper forward; he hoped that if I didn't get out in time I'd be taken through anyway. I jumped.

I fell down to the ground, hitting it hard on my shoulder; I felt the wormhole brushing up against my feet as I rolled over onto my back. Did I make it? Was I still in Atlantis? John suddenly loomed into my view.

"Get a medical team down here!" John yelled over his shoulder. I could hear more yelled as a few more faces came into view. I saw Elizabeth and Rodney; they were all talking very fast and saying words that I couldn't understand. It was then I realized that I was completely exhausted and I could no longer keep my eyes open...

* * *

I was curled up in the infirmary bed, I had woken up a few minutes ago and rolled over onto my side and brought my knees to my chest. Silent tears rolled down my cheeks and soaked the pillow under my head. I was still shaking, I hadn't stopped yet, and it wasn't from the cold. My head pounded from the headache I had, my shoulder hurt from my fall and my heart felt like it was being ripped apart inside. They had drawn the wheeled curtains around my bed to give me some privacy which I was grateful for; I couldn't bear to see anyone right now. I looked down at my wrists, they had been bandaged up, I took a peek at them and saw the red, and weeping skin from how tightly the cable tie had been on them. It made me cry harder. My throat was stinging and it still felt like nails to swallow so I stopped doing just that. I heard footsteps just outside the curtain; they were heavy and were followed by lighter ones.

"Doc, how's she doing?" I recognized John's voice, but it brought me no relief. I heard Carson sigh.

"Not good," he said sadly. "She's suffered a heavy concussion, bruising to her face, shoulder and ribs, she's got a damaged trachea and swelling to her neck and to be honest, she's still in shock."

"I don't understand why Lieutenant Ford would do that all to her?" I heard Elizabeth speak with sadness.

"He kept saying how he wanted them to be together, he wanted to take her out of Atlantis with him," John explained.

"Why?" There was a pause from Elizabeth, "Oh…" She muttered, she must've finally understood. "Is she going to be ok…mentally?" Elizabeth asked Carson. The Doctor sighed.

"I'm not sure, we'll have to see when she wakes up. I would like her to speak with Doctor Heightmeyer anyway. You have to understand, this poor girl has gone through a lot in the past year, this may have been the one thing that tips her over they edge."

"They were very close," Elizabeth agreed.

"Aye, and imagine having your closest friend do this sort of thing to you, it's going to be a traumatic experience for her. I suggest, after she's healed she returns to Earth with all of us."

"Agreed." John said quickly. I managed a small smirk. "I know she wants to reconnect with her grandfather, maybe some time with her family will do her good," John continued.

"I'll let you both know when she wakes up," Carson told them.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said. I heard two pairs of footsteps walk away and then Carson's light set came to the curtain as I shut my eyes and tried to steady out my breathing but my shaking never stopped. I heard Carson walk near me as he checked most of my vitals, I also had a drip in my arm and I heard him taking out a syringe and administering hopefully painkillers into me. Once he was done I felt him caress my arm and I tried not to flinch, memories of Ford shaking me and dragging me around flashed through my head. I heard Carson click his tongue as he walked off. Once the curtains were drawn once again I slowly opened my eyes. I gave it a few minutes, and I could start to feel the painkillers working, it was then I made my move. I didn't want to be in here, I wanted to be alone. I sat up slowly, wincing from the pain in my head as I turned to the drip in my hand and quickly yanked it out, wincing from the pain from that. I stepped down off the bed; the cold floor sent a shiver up my spine as I poked my head out from behind the curtain. Carson was sitting at his desk and there was only one other nurse in the room, treating a patient. I went to the other side of the curtain and peeked out, this side was clear. I knew I wouldn't be able to run, so I settled for a brisk walk as I glided out of the infirmary undetected.

I walked straight to my room, I waved my hand as the door opened and I stepped in. I half expected to see John here but he wasn't, he probably didn't think that I'd be awake for some time. I headed into my bathroom, and the light came on dimly as I finally managed to see how I looked for the first time. I was clearly a sight to behold. I had a nice gash by my eyebrow and bruising around it, my neck had deep purple bruising all around it. My face was pale and hollow, the dark circles under my eyes stood out against my skin. My honey colored hair hung limp around my shoulders. I moved the collar of my shirt to look at my shoulder, a nice yellow bruise was there from my fall, I lifted my shirt up and saw my stomach was bruised slightly on the right side. I looked like a punching bag. I started crying. I was crying my heart out, I was so broken inside, I wanted it all to stop. I shivered violently, I was freezing, why was I freezing? I looked to the shower; I needed warmth. I turned it on and stepped under the running water, fully clothed. I turned my face up to meet the water, letting it run over my sore skin. My tears mixed in with the shower water as I let out a gut-wrenching sob as I slowly sunk to the floor, my back up against the wall as I curled up and cried.

* * *

I was found like this, the water was still warm but I was still shaking, why was I still shaking? Why couldn't I stop? I didn't hear the footsteps but I felt a hand on my shoulder. I screamed and jumped; it was Ford! He had come back for me; he was going to kill me! I tried moving away but I was blocked.

"No! No! Get away from me! Don't hurt me please!" I cried. I felt Ford's arm grip my hands to stop me from hitting him. All I could see was his scarred face and haunting black eye. "Get off me! Stop, let me go!" I cried.

"Mia! Mia stop it's me!" Ford said, but it didn't sound like Ford. I still struggled. "Mia, it's John, stop its John." Ford said again. John? No it was Ford! "Open your eyes, baby."

And I did. Ford disappeared, replaced by a sopping wet John, who was crouched down in the shower with me. I panicked.

"Where's Ford? Where is he? He's going to kill me!" I screamed at John. John shook his head at me, he cupped my face with his hands. I flinched; it brought back the memory of Ford kissing me.

"He's not here, he's gone, you're safe," John said. I pulled my head out of his hands.

"No! He's going to get me, I need to get out of here!" I cried, I tried standing up but John wouldn't let me. I freaked out; he was going to hurt me, like Ford. I backed away further from him, I tried to mold myself against the wall, he was going to hurt me! I saw John's expression change, he held up his hands.

"Mia, I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly. I didn't believe him. He could turn on me, like Ford, and this time I wouldn't live to tell the tale. "I'm not going to hurt you," he repeated. I didn't move, I couldn't, I was frozen in fear. "Mia, please. I love you, I'm not going to hurt you."

I frowned. John loved me? He wasn't going to hurt me?

"I love you, Mia." He repeated again. I felt the tension and fear leave me. John edged closer to me, I didn't react. He moved again, and I was waiting. I knew what I was waiting for.

"John…" I whispered, I moved quickly, I threw my arms around him as he caught me, I bawled into his shoulders, the shower still coming down heavy on us as he sat with me under the shower while I cried.

* * *

"How do you feel today?" Doctor Heightmeyer asked me three days later. I was sitting in her large office, in the grey chair, with my back straight. Kate always looked beautiful, she was blonde and was very smart and sophisticated, I envied her.

"Fine, I guess," I replied to her, scratching my arm. Kate smirked.

"Care to elaborate?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I feel ok about it."

"How are your injuries?" She asked.

"My head still hurts, but the bruising will fade over the next few weeks," I explained. My throat was still pretty aching if I spoke to loudly or for too long but I couldn't be bothered explaining that to her. After my melt down in the shower three days ago John and had taken me back to the infirmary. Carson hadn't even realized I had snuck out yet. He didn't scold me though, he had seen my red-rimmed eyes and my sopping wet hair and had actually hugged me, and then he sent me to bed with a sedative to calm me down. Since then I didn't feel the need to go and cry under any more showers, I felt fine, like I had told Kate.

"Doctor Beckett says that you have an aversion to being touched now," she stated. Ha, that wasn't a question. I pursed my lips though, I wouldn't say I had an aversion to being touched, just when someone came up behind me and touched me I would jump, thinking that I was about to be attacked.

"I guess that's what happens when you get beaten up," I shrugged. Kate frowned slightly and wrote something down on her notes.

"How do you feel about Lieutenant Ford now?" She asked. I thought for a few seconds.

"I feel like I want to help him."

"Even after what he did to you?"

"He's sick," I told her, "and he's my friend. He wasn't thinking straight, the enzyme affected him really bad, Carson said it so himself." Kate wrote something down.

"What do you think would happen if you saw him again?" She asked, waiting for my reply. I smirked.

"Probably return the favor." Kate didn't look impressed as she jotted something else down on her notepad.

"Do you feel as if you've been badly affected by his attack?"

"Well yeah," I said sarcastically, "He pointed a gun at my head, and he almost choked me to death."

"And does that bother you?"

"Let's see," I said snapping, "In the past year I had my father die, I myself get held hostage and shot in the stomach by a crazy lunatic, then get threatened again with a gun pointed at my head by the same person, have to deal with Wraith swooping down to kill us all and then my best friend try and whisk me away from Atlantis while he's doped up on some crazy Wraith juice which made him almost kill me. I'm surprised I didn't have nervous breakdown earlier." I sat back in the chair. I saw the ghost of a smile on Kate's lips but she held it back and wrote something down.

"You said earlier, have you had a breakdown?" _Shit._ I couldn't lie to her now; the bitch knew body language.

"Yes," I admitted.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I cried, and thought that Ford had returned to attack me, but in the end it was all in my head and now I just want to be able to go back to Earth with everyone else and then come back and find Ford before he does something else incredibly stupid." Kate wrote something down again, I was getting really pissed off now. I was fine, I hadn't had another breakdown since the one in the shower and I was slowly getting over my aversion to being touched. "So can I? I need to get out of here," I said desperately. And I am so over talking to Heightmeyer every day, this was the third time seeing her and I always wanted to bash my head against the wall afterwards. Kate looked over her notes and then sighed.

"I see no reason to worry about you anymore, you seem to be taking this incredibly well."

"Hey, I've had a lifetime to deal with traumatic experiences, you should hear about my thirteenth birthday," I said, chuckling. Kate wrote something down and then ripped it off and handed it to me.

"Give this to Major Sheppard and Doctor Weir, I've cleared you for off-world travel but the active duty will still have to come from Beckett."

"Thank you!" I said, jumping up, and then wincing from my head. I turned to leave.

"Lieutenant." Kate called out. "If you do need to talk about anything more, please do feel free to come see me."

"Sure thing," I said, heading out the door with a grin on my face.

I headed up to the control room, knowing that John and Elizabeth would be there; we were all leaving for Earth today. Elizabeth, John, Rodney, Carson and myself thankfully were heading back for long talks and briefings and a bit of R and R. I never thought I'd be excited to see Earth again, I thought Atlantis my home the past elven months, but it would be nice to go and see Arizona and catch up with my Grandfather again after all this time, that was if he had seen my message I had sent him and he wanted to see me. I came up the stairs to the control room, it had been quiet the past few days, I had found out from John that while Ford had been dragging me all over the city we had fooled the Wraith into thinking we had destroyed Atlantis by faking a self destruct, it was a pretty ingenious plan that John said he thought up all by himself. So for all the Wraith knew, we were long gone now. I passed Chuck at the console as he nodded to me, I could see his eyes wondering to the bruising around my neck and on my face, the whole base knew by now what had transpired between Ford and I, they all knew that he tried to kidnap me and beat me to a pulp, but I was still talked about because I managed to escape at the last second due to my quick thinking of blowing the rear hatch, kind of ironic really seeing as Ford used that same tactic to save himself, John, Teyla, Rodney and two Marines.

I saw Elizabeth sitting at her desk going over some papers, she looked up when I entered as she smiled at me. "Lieutenant, you're looking better today," she said cheerfully. I saw her eyes flicker down to my neck for a second before she cleared her throat quietly and glanced up to meet my eyes once more.

"Thank you, ma'am," I said to her, I took a seat before her as I pulled out the note Kate had written for me. "Doctor Heightmeyer wanted me to give you this," I said, passing it over to her. "She says I'm clear for gate travel."

"That is good news, are you still willing to return to Earth with us?" She asked me as I nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good," she said with a sneaky smile, and it had me wondering what she was up to. "We'll be leaving in a couple of hours, that should give you enough time to get packed?"

"Of course, I'll see you in a few hours then," I said with a grin as I rose from the chair and headed out.

I arrived at my room as I brought out the large rucksack I had brought here with me as I started to pack away my uniforms and civvies. I heard my door open behind me as I froze; my heartbeat pulsed in my ears.

"Hey," I heard John's soft voice as I relaxed a little. I heard him walk closer to me and I felt a hand on my shoulder as I flinched a little, I didn't mean to. I moved away from his hand and turned around, he looked hurt that I had distanced myself. I felt bad, I didn't mean to, but sometimes it was hard for me to have contact with anyone after what had happened, I was getting better though. On the first day I wouldn't let anyone touch me, even Carson. I could see that I was hurting John from this, I felt even worse because I hadn't even told him about how Ford had kissed me, I didn't know how to tell him. I hadn't meant anything to me, I've never had any feelings other than friendship towards Ford, I felt like a rotten human being though for never even seeing it before then.

"I'm sorry," I said to John. He shook his head.

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I know these past few days have been hard on you," he said, giving me that soft smile that I loved to see. It made me feel guiltier. John took a seat on my bed as I packed away my clothes into the bag. I could feel his eyes on me as I walked around the room and collect things. As I walked back to the bed John was smirking at me with a twinkle in his eye.

"What?" I asked him, chuckling.

"I just find you inspiring," he said dreamily. I scoffed. "No really, I know I've said it a thousand times but you are the strongest person I've ever met, not just in kicking my ass, you manage to surprise me every time." I felt my cheeks flush as I headed into my bathroom and took all of my toiletries and walked back out. John was still in the same spot as before. I decided now was the best time to tell him about the kiss, after I zipped up my bag I bit my bottom lip hard, I was nervous about telling him. "What's bothering you?" He asked as I looked over at him. I moved cautiously to the bed and sat down next to him, my heart started to race again.

"I need to tell you something," I mumbled quietly. My hands were in my lap as I began twiddling with my fingers, I looked down at my fingers as I played with them, I could still heart my heart pulsing in my ears as I struggled to take deep breaths. John's hand reached out as he clasped his hand over my own, stopping me from fidgeting as I looked over at him. I could see the concern etched on his face. I felt the familiar warmth spread through my body at his touch, I had missed this feeling. "I don't want you to be mad," I whispered, childlike. I saw John looking remorseful. I recalled my breakdown in the shower, when I had thought that John would actually hurt me, he would never hurt me, he had promised me, and he had told me he loved me, I needed to finally see it and I think I was. John loved me, he wouldn't be mad at me.

"Mia…" John said quietly, his other hand slowly reached out to my face as I watched it. Since that night I have had little to no intimate contact with him, I was too afraid. But now as I sat next to him, I could feel the anxiety washing away. His fingers gently touched my cheek, and I didn't flinch away, he smiled. He moved his fingers back as I felt the palm of his hand cup my cheek. My eyes shut as I relished in the feel of his skin on mine. I felt my anxiety disappear. "I'm never going to hurt you," John told me, like he had three nights ago. I opened my eyes as his hand dropped from my cheek.

"Ford kissed me," I revealed. I saw the dismayed look he gave me. "I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. John I didn't want to, please don't be mad at me," I said worriedly. I searched his face for any emotion but he wasn't showing me much. "It meant nothing to me, I promise you. I love you," I shocked myself at my words. I hadn't said them since before the whole ordeal with Ford, but I found myself needing to say them, that past couple of days had been like a giant blur to me, the only thing that had remained constant in my life is John, and my love for him. And I suddenly found myself wanting him to hold me, to stroke my hair like he always did and kiss my cheek in that silly way.

"You think I'd be mad at you over that?" John said in astonishment. I sat there like a goldfish.

"What?" I managed to say, confused. John chuckled. "You're not bothered?" I asked him.

"I'm bothered yes," he chuckled. "But not mad. Why didn't you tell me this earlier? Is this why you've been so distant from me?"

"I was scared," I admitted to him, "I was afraid that if you found out you'd leave."

John reached for me, one hand went to the back of my neck and the other cupped my cheek once more as he pulled me to him and we met in a kiss. It was the first one we had shared since the incident and it felt like coming home, I felt all my worries disappear and nothing else mattered. All my fears and worries flew out the window and the pieces of me that had been broken by Ford's attack slowly melded back together again, I finally felt like myself once more. John pulled away as he brushed my hair behind my ear. He gazed lovingly into my eyes.

"I love you, Mia Sumner." He kissed me again as he gently pushed me back so that I fell back onto the bed, he crawled up me kissing my neck and face all over as his large hands caressed my body over my clothes. I felt the fire within me ignite as I wrapped my arms around his body, holding onto him as he kissed one of the sorest parts of my neck. I sighed from his soft touch as he glided his hand down my waist and down my thigh; my whole body tingled as he lifted my leg as I wrapped it around his hip. He kissed up my neck and back to my mouth as he kissed me tenderly. "Let me show you how much I love you," he whispered into my mouth. I couldn't speak, one part of me was ready for this, another was petrified and I didn't know why. John and I had been together more times then I could count but I was afraid. I nodded as I stared into his hazel eyes. From his expression he could see my anxiousness as he kissed me once more. "Don't be afraid. It's me," he muttered as I nodded again as he peppered my face and jaw with kisses. I found myself running my hands through his hair, it was something familiar to me as I felt my clothes being removed and then his, our naked bodies moved as one as I let John show me how much he loved me.

* * *

Elizabeth, Carson, Rodney, John and then myself on the end stood in front of the Stargate. Elizabeth turned around to look up at Teyla who was taking over temporarily as leader of Atlantis while we were all gone. "Dial the gate," Elizabeth said loudly up to them as I watched the chevrons lock. I glanced to my right; John seemed to sense me looking at him as he looked down at me with a smirk on his face.

"Well, who knew we'd get to be going back to Earth?" Rodney said as he groaned and picked up his bag from the floor. "Let's just hope Zelenka can hold down the fort without me."

"I'm sure everyone will be fine without you, Rodney," John commented, "They're probably throwing a massive party."

"You think?" Rodney said worriedly. John gave him a deadpan look as Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the two. The gate connected as I watched the vortex stretch out, I'd never get tired of seeing that.

"Let's not keep them waiting," Elizabeth said.

"Aye," Carson agreed. The three of them headed off as John and I stayed back for a few seconds.

"You wont let them reassign me, will you?" I asked John desperately. He chuckled.

"If anything they'll reassign me. Let's go," he said.

"Follow the yellow brick road," I sung as John laughed as we both stepped through the gate…

 **END OF CHAPTER 1**

* * *

 **Oh god guys, I can't believe the first season is done and dusted. I hope you all enjoyed it and I did it justice for you all. Again just thanking you all so much for your support!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela -** Yes he will, and i will talk more about John's reaction's at the end of this!

 **LeopardFeather -** That's totally ok, i'm just happy that your liking it and thank you so much for saying that, it means a lot to me! Hope you enjoyed the finale!

 **parmakai66 -** You were right in some aspect, i've had that planned since the very beginning, hope you enjoyed!

 **Guest 64 -** Oh wow thank you so much! hopefully i didn't disappoint with this chapter!

 ****PLEASE READ**

 **Ok guys so now that all the happy stuff is out of the way i have some bad news. I haven't finished season 2 yet and I told myself to keep everything up to date and so that i would always have weekly updates so i won't post until it is** **finished. I'm roughly half way through it so hopefully it won't be too long before we can get back into the main story. BUT there is a silver lining if any of you are interested? I was thinking of doing some John P.O.V one-shots, of scenes that you guys would love to see. I've already written up like 1 that i can post next week if you'd like to see them? And maybe i'll do different pov's of all the different people of Atlantis so you can see how they all think and what they think of Mia? Let me know if there is anything you would like to see from a pov of someone!**

 **Again thank you everyone and i will keep you updated on when i will be posting season 2, it will be with this story so you don't have to worry about trying to find it!**


	29. One Shot - John

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to get this thing out my word! So I did already have this written out but my silly self forgot to save and so I had to rewrite it again :( And then I took a couple weeks off from writing to have a break and only just finished it again today! But hopefully you will all enjoy as it's one of my favourite scenes from the first season in John's POV!**

* * *

 **One Shot - John.**

* * *

The Genii had taken over Atlantis, and from what John had heard over the radio; they had taken Elizabeth, Rodney and Mia hostage. John packed up his supply bag of the C4 and the other things that the leader of the Genii had demanded. He had hoped that Ford and Teyla with Beckett would have been heading back to Atlantis for backup but when he had radioed them they were stuck on the Mainland. He had cursed more time then he could count about that misfortune. After he had finished collecting the C4 he took a spare radio and drew on it quickly and set it inside the box, smirking to himself John left the room and headed to the nearest transporter.

He hid the C4 in one of the uppermost levels on the East wing, he was lugging around his heavy backpack full of ammo and supplies on the overhead catwalk. He was waiting for these Genii to find the radio so that he could determine how many were in the base and who their leader was. He didn't have to wait long before he heard the radio on his belt.

" _This is Commander Kolya,"_ He heard through the radio. John took it out and held it up to his mouth.

"Kolya," John said, breathless from walking and running so much, "that's a hard name to pronounce. Is that a first name? My name's Major John Sheppard and I have hidden the C4 where you will never—I repeat never—find it. When I get confirmation that the prisoners have been safely released and allowed to gate off Atlantis, I will help you find it." John waited for a few seconds for a reply.

" _Your offer is very generous, Major,"_ Kolya replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Yes, it is," John replied.

" _However, Doctor McKay recently shared with me there's a plan in action to save the city."_

"He did?" John asked in surprise.

" _He did,"_ Kolya confirmed as John gripped the radio in annoyance. " _My understanding is there is one final grounding station that needs to be deactivated. Uncouple the grounding rods at Station three, assist with the reactivation of the shield, and you and your friends can leave here unharmed."_

John frowned at the radio." Wait a minute—I thought all you wanted was C4 and a Jumper," John said.

" _Why raid a city when you can seize it, Major? Atlantis will be ours or the oceans. You choose."_

* * *

" _Say goodbye to Doctor Weir,"_ Kolya spoke through the radio after the small gunfight where John had killed two of his men. John felt his stomach drop to the floor as he gripped his radio tighter in his hand.

"The city has a self-destruct button. You hurt her; I'll activate it. Nobody will get Atlantis," John threatened.

" _Even if it exists, Major you need at least two senior personnel to activate it, and I'm about to take one of them out of the equation,"_ Kolya said.

"Kolya!" John yelled into the radio, he could feel the sweat building on the palms of his hands as the rain pelted against his forehead. "Kolya!" John screamed again, hoping that he would respond. "I'll give you a ship! I'll fly it out of here for you myself!" John waited for any sort of reply; he could feel the heavy thumping of his heart in his ears as he waited. "Kolya!" He screamed once more into the radio, almost obliterating it in his hand from the grip he had on it.

John still received no reply as he paced up and down the pier, he didn't know what to do, what could he do? He was severely outnumbered; the only possible way out of this was if Ford returned with Teyla and if Mia got free from Kolya's forces. Now he had screwed up, and possibly gotten Elizabeth killed, he would never forgive himself if she died because of his stupid actions.

" _Major Sheppard,"_ John froze when he heard Kolya's voice come from the radio, it was hard to hear over the pelting rain but he held it close to his ear. " _How's this for credibility? Lieutenant Sumner is dead."_

John felt his inside's freeze, his breath got caught in his throat and his knees almost gave out on him. His head was spinning as all he could imagine was seeing Mia's dead body on the ground at his feet, a bullet hole in the center of her forehead.

"I am going to kill you," John growled into the radio threateningly. His hands were shaking from his rage as he clamped his eyes shut. He couldn't protect her, hadn't he told her back in the Genii bunker that he would make sure they'd get out of it, she had put her trust in him and now what, Mia was dead, he had failed…again. He had failed to protect the people he cared about.

" _Stay out of my way, or McKay will join her,"_ Kolya said ominously. The line went dead as John shook with rage, he stared at the radio in his hand as he turned and pelted it against the wall, shattering the radio into tiny pieces.

* * *

John found himself standing outside of Mia's quarters, he swiped his hand over the sensor as the door opened and he stepped inside the cozy room. He glanced around, seeing the unmade bed and dirty clothes strewn over the floor. He walked to her desk, where her laptop sat and a few family photos'. He picked up the nearest one as a brief smirk appeared on his face; it was a picture of Mia and Ford, they seemed to be only young teenagers as they stood arms around each other's shoulders. John's gaze was drawn to her face, her blue eyes sparkled even in the old photo, her hair was short and wavy like it was now, she still seemed to have baby fat cheeks in the photo but her smile was something he had never seen on her yet. The smile she wore now was different to the one in the photo.

He placed the photo down and looked at the next one, it was a picture of her when she had graduated from the academy. She was older in this one, her face had thinned out and she had grown into a stunning woman. Her eyes lacked the same glint they did in the previous picture but you could see that she was proud of herself from the way she stood and stared into the camera. John looked around the room once more, feeling a cold shiver run up his spine as he realized that Mia would never set foot in this small room again.

* * *

John headed up to the control room for two reasons. One; he had cut the power to all primary systems so Rodney couldn't repair the damaged grounding station, and two; he wanted to see if Mia was there. John thought that Kolya would be the type of person to get reinforcements here just for one person. He crept up the many stairs and dodged some Genii soldiers as they passed him as he finally reached the control room. It was dark and hard to see, he poked his head over the stairs. He spotted Sora, he remembered her from the Genii planet and another man was talking to her whom he didn't recognize. He could hear the gate dialing in as the two talked about something that he couldn't hear properly. Movement to his left caught John's attention, John assumed it was another Genii soldier but he froze when he realized who it was…

It was Mia.

She was sitting in a chair, her face contorted in pain as she held her hand to her side and looked down at something every few seconds. She would then look up and glare at the two who were talking in front of her. John though he was seeing things, this couldn't be right; Mia was dead. Kolya had killed her.

But she was here, alive and breathing. He crouched over to her, he had to know if it was her, he was only seeing the side of her face so for all he knew it could be a Genii soldier. The gate connected as the room was filled with the beautiful blue glow and John felt his heart soar when it illuminated her slender face. It was her! It was Mia. He watched Sora walk off with two soldiers, leaving the lone man talking into the radio. John was behind the chair as he reached out and clamped his hand over Mia's mouth. He felt her jump as she struggled with him, trying to scream but it was muffled. John turned her face with his hand as her scream died off as her blue irises widened in shock and disbelief. John could feel a trainload of emotions running through him. He was exhausted and relieved that Mia was alive. He dropped his hand from her face as he pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling her to be silent as she nods. He motions for her to go for the door in Elizabeth's office as she nods and she stands, he sees the pain on her face but he didn't have much time to dwell on her physical state as he went to the man standing on the balcony and knocked him out quickly. John saw Genii coming through the gate as he went to the console and hit the shield button.

"Stop him!" Sora screams when she spots John at the console. John books it over the catwalk, firing off his gun. As he nears the door he hears Mia scream.

"Get off me!" He saw a Genii holding her by the throat as rage overcomes him as he fires a bullet into the Genii's chest. They both topple to the floor as John hears Mia cry out in pain. He bends down, knowing they only have seconds before Sora and her men come barreling through the door behind him. John wraps his arm around her waist; he pushes the feeling of his hand on her exposed skin away from his mind as he tries to lift her up. She was light and John didn't have time to savor the feeling of how nicely she fit against his body when she cried again. John realizes that something is wrong as he sees blood oozing through her dirty shirt.

"Crap," he mutters as in one swoop his arms go under her shoulders and knees as he picks her up, cradling her to his chest as he jogs down the hallway.

* * *

John sets her down in a small alcove far away from the control room, she hisses in pain as John meets her gaze. John was worried about her wound as he could see it soaking through the bandage she had on it. Mia was looking down at her wound and groaned and then looked at John again. When their gazes met again John watched a stray piece of hair move in front of her eyes, he reached out and tucked it behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek.

"Kolya said he had killed you," John whispered to her as he watched Mia's mouth part open. How he wanted to kiss her right now, he was just so relieved that she was alive right now. Her lips looked so inviting to him, so pink and full. He had to physically brace himself from capturing her lips with his. "I didn't want to believe it," he muttered. His fingers were touching her cheek still as he saw a faint blush appear on her cheeks.

"I think he just wanted you to become unfocused," she said softly. It was the first time she had spoken to him since being told that she was dead. Her voice was like music to his ears, and it just reaffirmed her alive status to him, that he wasn't actually dreaming right now.

"Well it worked," John admitted without realizing he had said it. He saw confusion come across her face as he put up his front and looked to her wound. "Let's get this changed."

* * *

"Carson!" John roared as he ran into the control room, carrying the unconscious body of Mia in with him. She was floppy in his arms as Carson spotted them.

"Good Lord," he said, hurrying over to them. Even though he had received a nasty blow from Sora and his head was thumping something terribly, he knew that Mia needed his help.

"Rodney go!" Elizabeth screamed at the scientist as Rodney tore his gaze away from Mia and hit the button on his laptop. John went to the table with the three laptops as Teyla hurried over and swept her arms across it, knocking them to the ground as John set Mia's body on the table. Her shirt had ridden up, showing her bloody midriff and the now soaked bandage that John had changed.

"What happened?" Carson asked as he leant over her body.

"I don't know," John admitted.

"Kolya shot her," Rodney said, coming over to them as Carson nodded and looked to Ford.

"Lieutenant I'm going to need my medical bag, it's in the jumper," Carson ordered as Ford nodded and ran up the stairs. Carson looked at John. "I need to get her shirt off and remove the bandage to see what's happened to her." John nodded as the two of them removed her shirt. Rodney looked away bashfully; giving her what little privacy he could even though she was muttering incoherently. Carson removed that bandage and started prodding her stomach as she began to scream in pain. Ford returned with the bag as Carson quickly pulled on gloves and brought out a pair of long tweezers. "Shine your flashlight on her wound," Carson told Ford as he began to dig through her open wound. The screams that emanated from Mia's mouth shook everyone to their very cores.

"She's bleeding too much, I need to get her into surgery," Carson said as John looked on helplessly, Mia's screaming suddenly died off as Carson swore and bent his head to her mouth and chest. "She's gone into cardiac arrest!" He hollered as John felt his stomach drop once more. "Major I need you to perform CPR on her now!" Carson ordered as John shook himself out of his daze and began pumping her chest. "Rodney I need my team here now!" Carson hollered at him. Carson pressed a large gauze onto the wound to try and stem the blood flow.

"I need to wait until the shield has built up enough power to be sustained for the remainder of the storm, if it doesn't the shield will fail when I try to dial out," Rodney spluttered out.

John stopped compression's as he held her small nose and tilted her head back; he lowered his mouth to hers and blew in twice. Then he restarted compression's.

"Can the infirmary be powered up?" Ford asked.

"Yes, for some reason the city registers the Infirmary as part of the control room, it's completely safe there."

"We need to get her there now!" Carson ordered. "Teyla I showed you how to perform CPR, jump on the table and continue. Major Sheppard, Ford, Elizabeth and Rodney we need to lift this table and take her to the infirmary!" Everyone jumped into position as Teyla straddled Mia's thighs and took over from John as Carson continued to press down on her wound. They lifted the table, thankful that the two women were light as they hurried to the infirmary.

"I should warm you all, this doesn't look good," Carson said as they went as fast as they could.

"She'll pull through, doc," John said reassuringly. No one said anything…

 _She has to…_ John thought.

* * *

 **Aw so cute! So we got a look into what John was feeling when Kolya told him that he killed her! I know some of you probably wanted to see this so it's why i wanted it to be the first one i posted! I hope I did it justice!**

 **Thank you everyone and I'll see you next time!**


	30. One Shot - First Meeting

**Hi guys! So I know it's been a few weeks since I last updated with a one shot but that is because I have been working hard on the storyline so much! But I wanted to get this one out for you guys and to let you know that I am still writing and hopefully it wont be too long until I can start posting again! I am a bit stuck for ideas for some one shots so if there is anything you would like to see in these feel free to let me know and I can try to make it happen, other then that, enjoy the first meeting!**

* * *

 **One Shot - John**

* * *

John Sheppard was nervous, normally he was a man of action and never got nervous over anything, but today was different. Today he was embarking on a brand new mission in a galaxy far, far, _far_ away. When he had first been told of the Stargate program he thought that Doctor Beckett had just been playing a very thought out practical joke on him, but boy was he wrong. He was indeed travelling through a hole with a worm or something or other and would miraculously be in another galaxy. He thought maybe someone had drugged his coffee but as the time went on he began to realize that the people around him weren't crazy and neither was he. It was all thanks to Jack O'Neill that he was geared up and ready to go. He could still remember their conversation in the helicopter clearly; John would miss flying his much-loved helicopters. He would miss Antarctica. It was quiet and isolated where no one knew about his failed Afghanistan mission to save his friends. He felt a dark look come over his face as he thought about his deceased friends, he vowed to never let something like that happen again, he would protect his friends at all costs.

John walked into the long corridor which would lead into the gate room, dozens of scientists and military were walking around and checking over their equipment, he could hear various languages around him and frustrated groans from a man who couldn't quite understand what some German scientists were saying.

It was then that John spotted _her_.

She was wearing the same as everyone else, but she stood out to him. She was tall, but still smaller than him, she was thin but he could see that she had muscle packed underneath her jacket. She held herself with confidence. Her hair was the colour of honey and was pulled back into a neat bun at the back of her head, her skin was tanned from sun exposure and completely flawless, her eyes were a striking electric blue with a straight nose and perfect cupids bow pink lips.

She was currently speaking to a man he recognized as the expeditions leader, he had a mean scowl on his face as he spoke with the woman, she muttered something as the Colonel spun around on his heel and marched off into the room. The girl followed him with her eyes and then turned her head down to stare at the ground beneath her feet. John felt himself moving towards her, he didn't know why, but he wanted to know her name, he wanted to know her.

He came to a stop next to her and crossed his arms; she sensed his presence as she glanced up at him, her blue eyes wide and curious.

"That conversation looked cheerful," John muttered sarcastically with a smirk. He watched her scoff and shake her head.

"You have no idea," she grumbled. They heard the command to move into the gate room as the woman turned and he followed her in. She came to a stop at the front as John stood next to her. He turned his gaze up to the Stargate as he stared at it in awe. It was large, round and creepy. He couldn't understand how that thing was going to take him to another galaxy.

"So that's the…Stargate," John said as he continued to stare at the Stargate.

"Yep," he heard her say. He looked down at her and smiled charmingly.

"Major John Sheppard," he told her as she smiled at him. It was dazzling.

"Lieutenant Mia Sumner," she said as John felt the colour drain from his face for a split second. He looked up on the ramp to where he spotted Colonel Sumner as he turned back to Mia.

"Sumner?" Mia laughed at him.

"Yeah, that's kind of the reaction I get from everyone who finds out. Colonel Marshall Sumner is my dad," she revealed. Mia shrugged her shoulders as she looked away from him as John smirked to himself and looked away from her. He found it amusing to him that she was Colonel Sumner's daughter, she didn't seem stuck up and hostile in any way. He wondered what she was actually like, she must be tough, considering whom her father is. And she is drop dead gorgeous; she also looked like the type that wont take no for an answer and could be a right handful, in a good way.

As he quickly looked at her again while she was solely focused on Doctor Weir talking about the expedition he noticed her taking everything in, so she was serious, he liked that about her. Something drew his gaze as he looked passed Doctor Weir and saw Colonel Sumner glaring at him. He had obviously seen him looking at his daughter and was now giving him the _oh-hell-no_ look. John cleared his throat as Doctor Weir finished her speech as she ordered the Stargate to be dialed. He watched Colonel Sumner descend the ramp and come stand next to him.

"Let me make myself clear, Major," Sumner said quietly and threateningly to him. "You are not here by my choice." John smirked.

"I'm sure you'll warm up once you get to know me," John replied with a snarky tone.

"As long as you remember who's giving the orders," Sumner continued as he began to walk off. John couldn't let it go, he knew that Sumner was just trying to put him in his place but John never backed down from a challenge.

"That would be Doctor Weir, right?" He bit back as he saw the dark look come over Sumner's face as he turned to Mia who was staring at him. John smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "And you have to live with that?"

"Actually," she said, catching his attention, "we haven't spoken in eight years," she revealed as John frowned.

"What?" he asked in surprise. He wanted her to explain but he was cut off as the Stargate connected. Her gaze was torn away from his as she faced the glowing blue water as the room erupted into applause.

* * *

John Sheppard then started the brand new chapter of his life with the mysterious Mia Sumner. And he couldn't image anything more challenging than getting to know her.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed guys! Remember to let me know if you'd like to see anything else between them and I'll see you all soon!**


	31. Update Announcement

Hi everyone! So there's no normal shot that I would do but guess what the good news is?

 _ **UPDATES WILL RESUME ONCE MORE!**_

As of the 16th of June updates for the story will once again come every week. I want to thank each and everyone of you for putting up with the wait, I know it's been a long time but trust me, this season has so much going in it that it took me forever to get everything in. Here's how.

Season 1 = 250 pages on word.

Season 2 = 350+ pages on word.

Season 2 has been a whirlwind of everything. There is stuff happening with Mia's family on Earth, and then we have new friends and old friends in this one. Trust me, this season does not disappoint!

 **Tune in on the 16th of June on Friday! (This may be Thursday for some as I live in Australia and I'm generally ahead of everyone else!)**


	32. Emergence - Chapter 32

**Hi everyone! Man it feels good to be posting again! I know it's been a while since we finished season 1 and it's a bit of a slow start to Season 2 I'm afraid, but there are some things that we have to do in the beginning with Mia's family. Trust me, we are in for a wild ride this Season. There maybe some things people don't agree with this season but rest assured that everything happens for a reason and everything will work out in the end. I want to thank everyone for their continued support while I have been away writing and from a suggestion of a reader, I have decided to go ahead and start naming the chapters on the drop down. I'll be going back and naming them sometime soon so that it's easier for everyone to remember certain chapters and navigate. Without further ado, let's jump right into Season 2!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

_Thunk; thunk._

I caught the lime green tennis ball in my hand as I threw it once more.

 _Thunk; thunk._

I caught it again as I heard a knock on my metal door. "Come in," I called out. The door opened and John walked in. He looked so formal in his uniform, his dark hair was always messy and the tight black shirt he wore highlighted his strong arms and chest. I grinned from my seat on my bed as he shut the door behind him. I threw the ball once again at the wall as he looked at me strangely.

"Where did you manage to find that here?" He asked me. I chuckled and caught it in my hand.

"Swiped it from one of the science rooms, it's the only thing keeping me occupied in this boring place," I groaned. The boring place I referred to was Stargate Command. We had been here for a grand total of eight days already, the first day required us to all go through thorough medical exams to see if we had brought any nasty bacteria or plagues through the gate back here. And then the next seven days required me to do absolutely nothing as Elizabeth, Rodney and Carson all debriefed the Generals and foreign allies on the situation. One by one, it had so far taken seven days. John had done his this morning, and now that he was here it finally meant that it was my turn.

Without me actually knowing it, I had become the second in command at Atlantis, as I was the next highest-ranking officer after John, no one had told me that. So General Landry was expecting a full debrief from me that I had not prepared for. "How'd the debriefing go?" I asked him. He went and sat on the other side of the room in one of the chairs, we hadn't been spending much time together on base, for obvious reasons. And whenever we did get time alone, we never did anything of any sort, we just talked, in case the room was bugged, I had been told that more than just humans had stayed in these rooms before.

"Torturous, I thought Caldwell was going to tell them all to reassign me from the looks he was giving me," John said as he rubbed his face.

"I'm sure you did fine, Major," I said with a chuckle. I tossed the ball over to him. "Well, I best get going, my turn," I said with a grin as John rolled his eyes at my enthusiasm. I left the room as I headed down six levels to level twenty-eight and made my way to the briefing room. Before I knocked on the door I straightened out my shirt, flattened down my hair that was pulled neatly back into a bun and smoothed out my trousers. With a deep breath I knocked on the door three times.

"Enter." I opened the door and walked in swiftly, shutting it behind me. In the room with me I recognized General Landry, General O'Neill and few other men who I didn't recognize. I did spot Colonel Caldwell sitting at the end of the table. I saluted them smartly as Landry motioned to the chair facing them. "Take a seat, Lieutenant," he said to me as I walked to the chair and sat down. My palms began to sweat as I rubbed them on my pants and then folded them neatly in my lap. I watched General O'Neill as he leaned forwards slightly on the desk.

"First off, I just want to say you have my deepest condolences about your father," O'Neill said. I smiled slightly.

"Thank you, sir."

"I met him a few times, bit of hard ass, wasn't he?" I chuckled.

"Yes, sir."

The next half an hour was spent going over my own mission's reports and explaining our situation on the Wraith and also about Ford. It had been over a week since I sustained all my injuries and while most have them had healed my neck was still slightly yellowed from the fading bruise. Every so often I watched them glance at it, by trying not to actually look at it, it was quite comical.

"How would you say Major Sheppard has impacted the success of the expedition?" Caldwell suddenly asked. I turned my head to look at him; he was eyeing me. I didn't know what he was playing at, I hadn't actually spoken directly to Caldwell yet, and I had only seen him around, but Elizabeth had mentioned to me that he didn't like John very much, because of his rank.

"Well…" I said, looking around the room at all of the men, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him." I said to them. "He's a great leader, he commands the respect of all the military personal on base, they look up to him, as do I," maybe I was being biased but I had a feeling they wanted to reassign him, I was going to make it seem like the sun shined out of his ass to make sure they let him stay. "He's saved us all more times then I can count," I narrowed my eyes at Caldwell as he pulled out a beige folder and read from a piece of paper.

"It says here in one of your mission reports that you haven't always agreed with some of his decisions. This one concerning a race of people called the Genii whom you were going to trade explosives with." I bit my bottom lip; I had written that in my report, this was when I was still mad at him from visiting the children's planet. "And in another report you mention that you warned the Major not to disable a shield that protected a children populated planet but he did anyway and almost got you all killed."

"He also saved the children that day, they were sacrificing themselves out of fear of the Wraith. By disabling and enabling it they were able to see that they didn't have to die. And I know I wrote that in there, Colonel," I snapped at him. Caldwell smirked and set down the paper.

"Getting back to the point, Colonel," Landry said with a pointed look at Caldwell, Landry looked over at me.

"The point, sir's," I said, "Major Sheppard has made some mistakes, yes, but he learns from them. And if it wasn't for him, the Wraith would probably be making their way here right now, he's the best chance that you all have for the survival of the Atlantis base." I finished with a glare directed at Caldwell. The men were silent. Landry finally opened up another file and I groaned internally, this one was larger and I had a sneaking suspicion that it was going to be bad.

"We'd just like to go over a few more finer details," Landry said as he took a drink from his coffee. "We asked Major Sheppard and Doctor Weir to give a report on all of the senior staff and they both said great things about you."

"They did?" I asked in disbelief. I saw O'Neill smirk out of the corner of my eye as Landry chuckled.

"They did. Elizabeth commended you for quick thinking when the base came under siege from the Genii attack and a rather furious storm, you took a bullet for her and you helped save the city. You also led Major Sheppard's team for a few missions and when encountering the Wraith you made sure that everyone got back safely."

"I just did what I thought was right," I said to them.

"Major Sheppard noted that when you were held hostage by a group of Genii on a planet called Dagan you willingly put your life on the line and incapacitate their leader so that you could all break free and escape. He also mentions that you've become very versatile in the Ancient systems for language and technology, being able to restore power to the city while it was under siege and that when you were under fire from Wraith darts you outwitted Doctor McKay and restored power systems to the Jumper he was flying." I could feel my face flushing red, this was all too much, they were making me sound like a hero, I wasn't, I was just doing my job. "It goes on for a while, but it all sounds the same, they both think of you very highly."

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

"It's a lot different from what else I've read in here," Landry said as he flicked through my file. He was talking about my yearlong absence after Liam died.

"I also read that you have a few altercations with a Sargent Bates," Caldwell stated as I tried not to roll my eyes at him. Landry and O'Neill and the other General's were waiting for me to talk.

"Yes, that's true. Sargent Bates accused my team mate of disclosing our presence to the Wraith when she didn't."

"But she did." Caldwell added. I ground my teeth together.

"Not willingly, her necklace was actually a small Wraith beacon that had become dormant over the thousands of years, when Major Sheppard touched it, it reacted to his Ancient gene and activated, it says that in my report."

"I know, but it does also state that you threatened to beat him up."

"He was out of line."

"So were you," Caldwell countered. I had to bit my cheek; I wanted to leap across this table at Caldwell, now I know what John was talking about when he talked about Caldwell grilling him. He wanted John out of Atlantis, and probably myself. "What about the second time? You swung first and had a Marine hold you back."

"Sergeant Bates was running his mouth again. He had said a few choice words about myself that I though were deemed inappropriate."

"Why didn't you get Major Sheppard or Doctor Weir?"

"Because we were dealing with a crisis, tensions were high and Bates knew that what he said to me would get a rise out of me, I didn't mean to attack him."

"But you did anyway, you seem to have an anger issue. I've read medical reports of people being sent to the infirmary from you." I bit my lip.

"Alright, Colonel," O'Neill said, shutting him up. Caldwell continued to smirk at me as I balled my fist up under the table. "Lieutenant," O'Neill said as I turned my attention to him. "Have there been any more personal that you've had altercations with?"

"No, sir. And I already spoke with Doctor Heightmeyer about my anger concerning Sergeant Bates, he has been moved back to Earth and resigned so there's no chance of us ever seeing one another again."

"Then I don't see what the big deal is, who doesn't get ticked off once in a while?" O'Neill said as I saw Landry smirk.

"Be that as it may," Landry said with a pointed look the Caldwell, "I sent off your mission reports to your Army Commanding Officers after they were given security clearance, also the recommendations that Doctor Weir put in."

"Recommendations, sir?" I asked Landry, confused. Landry nodded to one of the officers as they quickly left the room. A few seconds later they returned and were followed in by a man that I recognized. I shot up out of my seat, saluting the man before me. "General Iverson, sir," I said. Iverson was a man in his sixties, with a baldhead, he was a slim man with a crisp uniform, he was also my commanding officer that had found me in my drug haze and given me the second chance that my dad begged for.

"At ease, Lieutenant," Iverson said. I looked around the room at the other men.

"I don't understand?" I asked them. Iverson walked to me, taking my attention.

"Sumner, when I was told that you were being transferred to a position here in Cheyenne Mountain I never realized that you would actually be going to a different galaxy. Once I read these reports about your missions and what you've been doing the past year I knew I had to get on the first flight here. You've shown your dedication, loyalty and great courage to your country…and planet," Iverson chuckled at the awkwardness of saying it, "You proved every single person back at base wrong, the people who whispered behind your back can only talk of the brave things you have done, and for that I, and the rest of the Generals of the U.S Army have decided to reinstate your rank back to Major."

My jaw dropped to the floor, I felt tears prick at my eyes but I held them back, I couldn't believe that this was happening. I grinned at Iverson.

"Thank you so much, sir."

"No, thank you," Iverson said.

"Your ceremony will be held tomorrow at noon in the gate room," Landry commented as I looked over at him. "General Iverson will be presenting you with your medal, again," Landry chuckled as I smirked. "You're dismissed, _Major."_ Landry said with a smile as I saluted the men in the room, my eyes lingering on Caldwell as he remained emotionless as I left the room.

I looked down at my watch and saw that it was one thirty in the afternoon, I needed to tell everyone about what had just happened in there. My head was still reeling, I couldn't believe that I had been promoted back to Major; I never thought it would happen. With a large grin on my face I strolled into the mess hall and thankfully everyone was seated at one table eating lunch together. Carson was the first one to see me.

"I see it went well then, what with that great big smile you have there," Carson said as I nodded.

"It went great," I said to them as I sat down next to Elizabeth. She seemed to give me a knowing smile.

"Well go on, tell us what happened," Rodney said with a sigh as I grinned and looked around at them all. I pointed to myself.

"You are all looking at the newly reinstated Major Mia Sumner," I said proudly and with a large grin. John looked completely stunned for a second but then he grinned at me. Carson let out a gentle whoop and Rodney rolled his eyes in his own manner that I recognized as him congratulating me. Elizabeth clapped and grinned over at me as I did a mock bow to them all.

* * *

I stood by the Stargate in my formal uniform, my hair was brushed to perfection in a neat bun at the back of my head, my shoes shined and my uniform was crisp and neat. The gate room had been done up for my ceremony, wreaths weaved along the gate ramp and the country's flags lined the back of the wall. Nearly all the base was standing at the base of the ramp. I could spot Elizabeth in a lovely grey suit, Carson and Rodney both wore dark suits and John was standing at the front in his own blues that looked very handsome on him. I'd never seen him wear them before today and boy did they look good on him. For once he had brushed and styled his hair to the side as he stood next to Elizabeth. General Landry stood at the podium at the top of the ramp, he gave me a smirk as he cleared his throat and the room went silent. To his right was General Iverson who glanced over at me and nodded with a smile on his face. I could feel my palms sweating from anticipation.

"I would like to hand over to General Iverson of the U.S Army," Landry said as he stepped to the side and allowed Iverson to take the podium. He cleared his throat.

"When I heard what was going on down here in this facility, in my wildest dreams I never imagined what stood behind me now. As I look at all of your brave faces, I know that what you do here is something special, each and every one of you protect and serve out country and planet to the highest degree, and no one even knows that. I would like to commend every single one of you on your fantastic jobs here in the Stargate Program," Iverson paused as he looked around the room. "Your newest expedition, the Atlantis project took one of my finest soldiers; Lieutenant Mia Sumner. Please come to attention," Iverson said. I followed, snapping my arms and legs together as I saw the other entire Military do the same thing. "Lieutenant Sumner has shown leadership, dedication and loyalty to her fellow soldiers while under threat and in times of great danger, far outweighing those required of a Lieutenant. Lieutenant Sumner was once a Major in my division, but circumstances led to her demotion to a Lieutenant once more, after carefully consulting with my fellow superiors and seeing the outstanding commitment she has to her country and planet we have decided to immediately reinstate her fully to Major once more." The room erupted into applause as Landry appeared with my stars as Iverson moved to the other side of me as they both placed them on my shoulders. I was beaming; I turned my head to look at my friends down below. All of them had giant grins, even Rodney. I could see from here that Carson was trying to wipe his eyes discretely as I chuckled. John had the largest grin I had ever seen on his face before as he clapped along.

"Congratulations, Major," Iverson whispered to me as he shook my hand.

"Thank you, sir," I replied. Landry shook my hand next.

"Well done, Major."

"Thank you, sir," I said to Landry. I watched Iverson move off to the side once more as Landry took to the podium.

"I have one last bit of business before we finish here. Please come to attention again," Landry said as we all stood at attention. I was confused, what else was happening? "Major John Sheppard," Landry called out. I whipped my head around to where John was standing; he looked gob smacked. "Please come forward," Landry told him. John was frozen for a few seconds before Elizabeth nudged him and he slowly walked up the ramp. He glanced at me for a split second, I could feel my cheeks hurting from my great smile I had. John stopped before Landry as the General turned to him with a smile. "After consideration from myself and the Air Force superiors, we have seen a great amount of leadership and dedication from yourself while leading the Atlantis expedition. You have proven many times over the last year your devotion and willingness to protect not only this planet, but Atlantis as well. The Air Force couldn't ask for a finer person. With that, we have decided to promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel." Landry approached him as an airman appeared with his stars as Landry quickly clipped them on. John was beaming. Landry shook his hand and whispered congratulations to him as John walked over to me. He stood next to me as we shook hands.

"Congratulations, Major," John said as he pulled away from my hand.

"Same to you, Colonel," I replied as John stepped back so that we were standing together. The room applauded again as I watched Carson blow his nose on a hanky that he had. Rodney was rolling his eyes at Carson but clapping nonetheless and Elizabeth was grinning from ear to ear at both of us.

* * *

A few days later I was in my assigned quarters packing my bags. Now that all the briefings had been done I was able to visit family and friends in Arizona while Elizabeth and Carson had to stay back and pick out new personal for the base…that sounded fun. As I was zipping up my bag the door opened, I glanced over my shoulder, John entered dressed in his civvies. A pair of faded jeans and a black polo.

"All packed?" John asked. I nodded as I pulled my hair out from the tight bun it had been in all day. I wiped my hands on my black jeans as I slung the bag over my shoulder. "Landry sent me, you're cars waiting up top for you," John said.

"Thanks, Colonel," I said politely to him. I was returning home after nine long years, I hadn't seen my Grandfather since I was seventeen but I had left him a voicemail earlier in the day telling him that I was home safely and was coming to see him. Also while I was home I had to go to Ford's grandparents house and give them the bad news about Ford. Obviously I wasn't aloud to say what had happened, only that he was missing in action, presumed dead. It was going to be a hard reunion.

"See you in a week, Major," John said, but he was grinning at me like he was hiding something. I didn't want to ask him why he was grinning like that, for fear of being overheard. But it sounded weird being called Major, I hadn't heard it in over a year so for me to suddenly be start calling it again, it was just weird.

"Have fun with all your new duties, Colonel," I said to John as I walked passed him.

* * *

Two car rides and a plane ride, I landed in Arizona. It surprised me that my grandfather still lived in the same old house that he had since he bought it way back when he was my age, but I guess it was a good thing that I didn't have to figure out where he lived. It was around an hour drive from the airport to my grandfather's house. The Air force had someone waiting for me at the airport to pick me up, he was an older man, wearing dark glasses and a crisp suit, holding a sign that had _Sumner_ written on it in neat scrawl. There wasn't much talking in our car ride, the music was turned down low so I sat facing out the window as I watched the familiar scenery go by. I had taken this drive thousands of times during my childhood, when my grandfather and I would drop my dad off here to be deployed, then picking him up, it made me feel like a child again. I recognized the land as we got closer to my grandfathers house, he lived in a small town called Clifton while dad and I used to live in Tucson.

As we entered Clifton my heart started to pound in my ears, my palms began to sweat as I continuously rubbed them on my jeans, hoping to dry them, it didn't work. I was grinding my teeth together in my anxiousness and my foot was tapping on the floor of the car. We turned into the street; I could see all the familiar houses around me as I tried to control my breathing, what if he didn't want to see me? What if he was still mad at me for joining the Army? I was so nervous I thought I was about to have a heart attack. The car pulled into the driveway as I dug my fingers into my leg painfully; I was terrified. Drop me in front of four Wraith soldiers and I'd happily take them out, but put me in a situation like this, I couldn't breath.

"Ma'am?" The driver speaking made me jump as I met his sun glassed gaze in the mirror. He was obviously waiting for me to get out of the car.

"Yes—sorry," I said hastily. I took a look at the house that was still painfully the same. It was a red brick house, one story with a basic garden. A porch with a white two seated wooden chair that I used to sit on everyday. The driver handed me a small card.

"Ring this number when you would like a car to take you anywhere, General Landry sends his best." The driver said. I thanked him and shoved it into my pocket as I took ahold of my bag and opened the door. I stood and watched the car drive away, I wanted to call him back and ask him to take me back to Colorado. I slapped myself mentally; harden up girl. I gazed at the house once more. I took one step when I heard the front door open; I froze to the ground. The fly screen opened as I watched an elderly man walk out. He was tall, taller than me, with a full head of grey hair and a clean-shaven face. He wore a red flannel shirt and jeans. He had obviously seen me as he too had stopped walking, frozen by seeing me standing there.

"Mia?" He called out. It unfroze me, hearing his voice as I walked to him. I slowly ascended the porch stairs, as I got closer I saw the same blue eyes that myself and my dad inherited from him. I was waiting for him to tell me to go away, that he didn't want to have anything to do with me.

"Hi," I said quietly. I stood before him awkwardly; I dug the toe of my shoe into the decking and bit my bottom lip.

"Come here, girl," Granddad said as I frowned, he opened his arms as he stepped forwards and pulled me into his embrace. I dropped my rucksack in shock as granddads arms were like an iron gridlock around my body. I could feel my throat tightening and the sting of tears in my eyes.

"I thought you never wanted to see me again," I whispered, holding back my tears. Granddad always hated to see people cry.

"That was until I saw the video you sent me," Granddad said to me, as he held onto me tighter. I managed to maneuver my arms out of his grip as I fastened them around him to hug him back.

Granddad ushered me inside after a few minutes, he took my bag for me as I walked into the house. Nothing had changed the past nine years, all the furniture was the same, all the photos were still here and the same musky smell lingered in the air. It was a woodsy smell, like sawdust. I could hear noises from inside the kitchen as Granddad and I entered. I saw my step-grandmother, Jenny, cooking dinner on the stove. She looked up when she heard us enter, her jaw dropped when she saw me.

"Oh my word…" She muttered, turning the stove off. My own biological grandmother had died before I was born to cancer, Granddad had finally remarried when I was thirteen years old so Jenny had been the only grandmother I had ever known, she was a sweet woman, her father had been in the Marines, no surprise there. Jenny walked around the counter top and held my hand in hers. "Look at you! You're all grown up, and so beautiful," Jenny cooed at me as I grinned.

"She looks like Diana," Granddad commented. Diana was my mother. Jenny nodded.

"I've only ever seen pictures of her, for obvious reasons…but my word you're like a spitting image of her."

"Thanks," I said awkwardly.

"Max take her to the spare room, dinner will be done in about an hour, we'll let you get cleaned up," Jenny said, motioning for my granddad to go. I followed granddad to the spare room, I had spent many nights in this old room, when I wasn't staying with Ford's grandparents or the nanny that dad hired I was spending my weekends here with granddad. The room itself hadn't changed, the double bed was small and with the same blanket cover. The window overlooked their large yard and along the walls were pictures of granddad with his old squadron, and some of dad in his own squadron when he was my age. I smiled at them as granddad set my bag down on the bed. I took a seat, the mattress was old and lumpy but it felt good to feel it under my bum. It brought back memories of when granddad would read me bedtime stories when I was a kid.

"Listen…" Granddad said as I met his gaze. "Everything that's happened over the years, I said some pretty horrible things to you—"

"Granddad, it's ok—"

"Let me finish," he snapped. I shut my mouth. "When I saw you in that video, all grown up I realized how much I had missed in your life. You're my only grandkid and I treated you horribly. And hearing what happened to your dad, my son, what could've happened to you, I regret everything I said, Mia."

"Granddad…" I had to hold back my tears.

"I'm sorry for everything, I should never have told your dad to disown you, we both should've realized that you are your own person, we shouldn't have forced you into joining. I'm just really happy you're ok, I thought I'd lost both of you," Granddad said. To my utter shock, I saw him wipe away a tear, I'd never seen him cry before, or get emotional, and he was never like this. I hurried over to him as I hugged him.

"It's ok, Granddad," I said to him. He patted my back and stepped away from me.

" _A soldier never shows his weakness, a soldier never shows his tears,"_ Granddad quoted. It was something that was passed down our family, kind of like a motto, I had heard it all my life.

"You aren't a soldier anymore," I pointed out to him. He chuckled and placed his hands on his hips.

"I guess you're right. There's one other thing I need to talk to you about," Granddad scratched the back of his head. I frowned. "Tomorrow we've planned a funeral for your dad. It's just timing that you just happened to be here now. We planned it weeks ago and I'd be honored if you'd come too."

"Of course, thank you. You know that I can't tell you how he died," he smirked, of course he knew why I couldn't. "We weren't able to retrieve his body, I'm sorry, I wish we could've."

"It's ok, it's more closure for myself really," he cleared his throat, "I'll let you get settled." He looked at me for a little longer, I think he really was happy that I was here, and then he left. It was weird for me to be here, but I'm glad I was.

* * *

Jenny was amazing, early the next morning she had gone out to buy me something to wear for the funeral. I had told them I was fine wearing my uniform but seeing as it wasn't a proper Marine burial she said that I had to wear something else. She had returned as I had woken up, the funeral was taking place in Tucson, where dad was born and my home town, it was starting at twelve and it was an hour drive from here to there. Jenny handed me the dress as she herself went to get ready. I showered and then changed into the dress, I had to admit, the woman knew my style. It was knee high, with three quarter length sleeves and a round neckline. She had bought me a pair of black shoes to go with the dress, my size and everything; she probably snooped through my clothes last night, I thought with a chuckle as I brushed my hair out. Thankfully it didn't frizz out like it normally did, it was curlier then normal just in between my shoulder blades. I could see the outline of my tags under the dress so I pulled the chain over my head as I held them in my hands. This morning I had given Granddad dad's dog tags that John had given me a few days after he had died. I wasn't sure if he was going to put them in the empty casket or keep them for himself, I said that it was his decision. I looked at my engagement ring that hung between the tags, and then placed the chain down on the nightstand.

I heard a knock on the door, I looked at my clock on the wall, it was ten thirty. We weren't leaving for another twenty minutes and I had no idea who it would be at the door.

"Mia, honey can you get that!" I heard Jenny call out. I took another look at myself in the mirror and nodded to myself. You can do this. I walked to the front door; it was probably one of granddad's Marine friends hitching a ride with us. I didn't bother looking through the peephole as I gripped the handle and opened the door up. To my utter shock John stood at the door in a black suit. I couldn't form words; I couldn't even think straight, I thought I was dreaming.

"What are you doing here?" I managed to say. Realizing that he was here I looked over my shoulder quickly, praying that granddad or Jenny didn't come to see who it was. I stepped outside, closing the door behind me as I dragged John away from the door and to the other side of the porch.

"I came to be here for you," John said, shoving his hands into his pockets. I held my head; I couldn't believe he had done this, was he insane? Did he want to get caught? "You don't want me here?" John asked, hurt. I shook my head.

"No! I mean yes I want you here but you shouldn't _be here_. Do you have any idea how risky this is?" I hissed at him. John held onto my shoulders.

"I know, but everyone thinks I'm in D.C visiting my own family right now."

"Don't you think that Landry will get suspicious if he finds out that your plane came here instead?" I glared at him, I wanted to wring his neck, this was stupid, even for us.

"My plane went to D.C, I left an hour after you, when I landed in D.C I booked a flight to come here, in cash."

"I'm sure that the Air force are keeping tabs on you."

"I went under a different name," John said as I sighed.

"So not only did you just commit a felony you put yourself at risk coming here," I said to him, crossing my arms over my chest. John rolled his eyes at me.

"My dad owns a small charter company, I called in a few favors with one of the pilots. Trust me, Mia, no one knows I'm here except you." John stepped closer to me as he rubbed my arms gently. I gave him a blank look.

"You're really stupid, you know that?" I said to him as John grinned at me. My anger at him vanished as I saw that smile; it had been torturous not being able to speak to him like we normally could, or being able to hold him.

"I know," he gave me a boyish grin.

The door opened suddenly, I had completely forgotten about my granddad and Jenny. Granddad stepped out, looking very sharp in a black suit. His gaze landed on John and I, as he looked surprised, in a good way.

"Oh, I thought it might've been Richard," granddad said. He looked between John and I a few times.

"Granddad," I said, breaking the awkward silence, I tugged John with me as I walked towards granddad. "This is Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard," John reached out for Granddad's hand as granddad looked at him hesitantly then shook his hand. I could see the nervousness on John's face, which made me smirk.

"And he is?" Granddad asked in confusion.

"I'm Mia's boyfriend," John said, acting tough. I saw the shocked expression my granddad had on his face for a split second before it disappeared.

"Nice to meet you, son. Mia you didn't mention him," Granddad said with a pointed look at me. I shrugged causing John to roll his eyes at me. I heard Jenny talking from inside the house.

"Max! Richard just called and said he'll be here any…" She died off when she came outside and saw the three of us standing here. "Oh, hello. Max whose this?" Jenny asked, eyeing up John. John put on his charming smile that he often used on me as he extended his hand for Jenny.

"John Sheppard, I'm Mia's boyfriend," John said as Jenny's eyebrows rose up into her grey hairline.

"Jenny, pleasure to meet you," she said. I could see the dreamy look Jenny got in her eyes, I knew John was attractive, hell I thought he was the most attractive man I had ever set my eyes on, but for Jenny to be fawning over him made me want to barf. "Are you coming to the funeral?" Jenny asked. John nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. I see that Mia neglected to mention that fact to you both," John said with a grin as Jenny frowned over at me.

"Mia, honey why didn't you say anything?"

"It was a last minute decision, I didn't know if John could get the time off work," I said with a pointed look.

"Do you have a ride there? Richard is bringing Annette so we don't have any room in our car," Jenny explained to John.

"I brought a car."

"Well Mia can ride with you then," Jenny said with a grin. I held up a finger in the air.

"Actually I was hoping to ride with you guys—"

"Nonsense," Jenny waved me off as she took granddad's arm. I saw a car pull up on the driveway and noticed the hired car that John had parked on the side of the road. Jenny and Granddad walked to the dark red car as John looked over his shoulder at me with a grin. I rolled my eyes at him as we walked to his hired black car. He opened the door for me as I thanked him and slid in, he shut it and walked around the front and got in himself. We followed Richard's car to the interstate.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed! It may seem rushed the first couple of chapters while we get through all of this but you don't have to wait long before we get to the good stuff again! Thank you to everyone as always and I will see you next week!**


	33. Emergence - Chapter 33

**Hi guys, so we are back again! So this chapter is another kind of filler but some important stuff happens in this one which will begin to set the season. It's a bit rushed in some places as I had a lot to get done in such a short chapter but don't worry next week we head on into the first episode! Thank you everyone who has returned to this story and to my new readers! I appreciate your kind words so much.**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"You mad?" John asked ten minutes into our drive. I had been completely silent with my arms crossed so far.

"Furious," I muttered grumpily. I took a peek at John from the corner of my eye; he glanced over at me with a grin as I looked away. I sighed, even though I was mad at him, I was glad he was here. I leaned over in my seat and pecked him on the cheek. "Even though you're an idiot, thank you for coming," I said. I saw John grin again while he watched the road. While he was driving his free hand reached out for mine as I held onto it as he drove.

We reached Tucson Church with fifteen minutes to spare. It was a beautiful day, the sun was out and it was a nice temperature. The church was one that I used to come to as a child; my mother was also buried here. Granddad had actually managed to get a plot next to her grave, which I thought was nice. I glanced around the car park, all the spaces were full, I could see a few dozen people getting out of their cars, wearing black, some men and women wearing Marine uniforms. John squeezed my hand reassuringly and suddenly I was extremely thankful that he was here. I got out of the car and John met me by my door. He wound his arm around my waist as he kissed the side of my head.

"You ok?" He asked. I looked around at the people once more; some had stopped to stare at me, obviously recognizing who I was. Some were whispering and others gave me weak smiles. I looked at John.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, plastering on a smile.

"I know you're lying," John whispered. I nudged him gently as he chuckled. Jenny and granddad came over to us. Jenny gave us a loving look as granddad had on his stony expression.

"Let's go then," granddad said as he took Jenny's arm. John tightened his grip around my waist as we walked behind Jenny and Granddad.

* * *

The funeral was outside, John, myself, Jenny and Granddad sat at the front on simple black chairs. The reverend was saying kind words but I wasn't listening, I was staring at the two headstones ten feet in front of me.

 _Diana Sumner._

 _Loving wife, devoted mother._

 _Marshall Sumner._

 _Protector of all, loving father and husband._

John's hand holding mine was the only thing I could feel at this moment, I didn't think it would hurt this much to be here, I thought I had dealt with dad's death a long time ago. Being here made it all surreal, like I was reliving the moment I found his body. My screams rung through my ears as I looked away. John squeezed my hand, letting me know that he was here for me as I leaned into him. His arm came around my shoulder as he pulled me to him, I relished in the comfort of his body. I glanced over at Jenny; I could hear her quiet sobs. The reverend finished up as he called up granddad. Granddad didn't say anything, I watched him go to the empty casket as he pulled out dad's dog tags that I gave him as he set them on top of the casket. I swallowed the lump in my throat as the reverend gave the signal for the casket to be lowered. Even though I knew his body wasn't in there, it gave me piece of mind to know that hopefully he was now at peace with mom.

People started getting up and leaving, I didn't move. Jenny and Granddad left with the others, there was going to be a wake at the local community hall. John was rubbing my shoulder with his hand as I continued to stare at the headstones. I was surprised at myself that I wasn't crying. I pushed myself up off the chair; I could feel John's eyes on me as I turned to him.

"I'm ready," I said to him. John stood as he reached for my hand and together we walked back towards the car.

* * *

John and I arrived at the community hall; I could see people walking in together as John took my hand in his as we walked together inside the large room. Soft music was playing in the background as I saw people talking together in small groups; I spotted granddad and Jenny talking to a few older people, shaking their hands as people offered their condolences to them.

"Mia," a mans voice made me turn as I recognized the older man. His name was Harry Mansfield; he had served together with dad years ago.

"Hi, Mr. Mansfield," I said as I shook his hand.

"It's good to see you, it's been a long time since I last saw you, I think you still had braces," Harry chuckled as I grinned.

"Yes, sir," I agreed. "Mr. Mansfield this is John Sheppard," I said as I motioned to John. Harry reached for his hand as John shook it.

"How do you do, son?" Harry asked him.

"I'm good, sir, thank you," John replied as Harry turned back to me.

"My deepest condolences for you, Mia. I lost my father when I was very young as well."

"Thank you, Mr. Mansfield," I said to Harry. He then spotted my granddad.

"I best go see your old man Max, nice to meet you, John," Harry said as he nodded to John. John smiled at him politely as we both watched him walk off.

"I'll go get us some drinks," John announced as he pecked me on the side of my temple as I watched him wonder off into the crowd. I hugged my body as I glanced around at the dozens of people here. I suddenly felt very claustrophobic and I desperately needed some fresh air. I weaved in and out of the people as I made my way back outside the way we had come as I moved off to the side and leaned against the wall. I gazed out across the sandy terrain; I had missed seeing the red sand and cacti everywhere you looked. From here I could even see the mountain ranges that backed onto the city.

"No mom, I'll be home soon," I heard a young girls voice say. I could tell she was on the phone and I felt kind of awkward listening in on her conversation. "No, I told you, I'm out with Abby right now, we're about to head in to watch a movie, I'll call you when it's over." I smirked. So this girl was lying to her mom, I felt myself grin, but then I frowned, why would she lie about being at a wake? I glanced around and spotted her near one of the cars, she was dressed in a plain black dress. I recognized her, I had seen her at the funeral, and she had been sitting at the back by herself. She had light blonde hair that fell to the middle of her back. She had tanned skin from being out in the sun and was very beautiful. From here I couldn't see what color her eyes were. "Ok, I love you, bye mom…bye mom," she hung up her phone and sighed heavily, she ran a hand through her hair and then jumped when she noticed me standing here. "Sorry," she apologized to me. I shook my head.

"No, it's fine. Sorry about eavesdropping," I said sheepishly. She walked over to me, now I could see that she had gorgeous blue eyes. And as I thought she was really young, like seventeen or sixteen. I was curious as to why she was here, by herself, how did she know my dad? "So, lying to your mom?" I said with a smirk. She grimaced.

"Yeah…she doesn't know I'm here," she said sheepishly, rubbing her arm. "She'd kill me if she ever found out."

"Did you know Marshall?" I asked her, now I was curious. The girl shook her head.

"Um not really, he was my moms friend and they had a falling out years ago. I saw an article in the paper about his passing and I knew that she'd never approve of me coming to pay my respects so I kind of lied about it. Better to ask forgiveness then permission, right?" She said, chuckling. I laughed as well, it sounded like something I would do. "I'm Emily," she said, grinning.

"Mia," I replied, and that was when her entire expression changed. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. "Are you ok?" I asked her, hesitantly. She backed away, looking terrified.

"Um, I uh—I have to go!" She exclaimed as she spun around on her heel and ran. I frowned as I watched her go. I was seriously confused.

"Hey, there you are," I heard John say in relief. I turned to see him walking towards me. "I though you abandoned me in there," he said jokingly. He noticed my confused expression. "You alright?"

"Something weird just happened," I said to him. "There was this girl, I told her my name and she got really freaked out and left."

"You are pretty scary," John teased as I glared at him. "Sorry," he laughed. "I'm sure it's nothing," he said, trying to reassure me.

"Yeah," I mumbled, still frowning.

"Listen," John said, catching my attention once more. "It may not be the best time, but seeing as we're here, I though maybe we should head over to Ford's grandparents house to inform them personally about his disappearance." John said.

"Ok," I agreed. "Let me go and say bye to granddad and Jenny," I told him as I headed back inside.

* * *

John and I pulled up outside of Ford's grandparents house. I looked over to the left, there stood my childhood home. The two story pale brick house with weeds growing out the front. I looked back to Ford's grandparents house, it was a red brick one story with white trimming around the windows. I got out of the car as John looked over at my house.

"This where you grew up?" He asked as I nodded.

"Yep, still looks the same as it did nine years ago," I said with a smirk. He came over to me as we walked up to the front door of Ford's home. I knocked three times as we waited, I could see a car in the driveway so I knew someone was home. After a minute I heard the door unlocking as it swung open and to my delight, Ford's cousin Lara was staring at me.

"Mia!" She exclaimed.

"Hi, Lara," I said, she pulled me in for a hug as I hugged her back tightly. Lara was three years older than me; she was like a sister to Ford even though they were cousins. She saw John standing slightly behind me.

"Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard," John introduced himself as Lara shook his hand. Something changed with Lara's expression; she looked between us both, seeming to put the dots together as she looked devastated.

"Something's happened to Aiden, hasn't it?"

We spent a few hours filling in Lara on the details that we could, she was completely distraught about the news and I felt terrible having to tell her this. I was thankful that Ford's grandparents hadn't actually been there at the time otherwise this would've been harder. Lara had begged me to stay with her to tell them but I couldn't, I couldn't face them knowing that I had to tell them that the boy they thought of like son was missing presumed dead. It was selfish of me but I just…couldn't. I told myself that maybe if I had gone with Ford, maybe I could've talked him out of fleeing Atlantis, maybe after a few days he'd see reason and want to get better. It played on my mind everyday, what if I had tried harder to get through to him, what if I had reciprocated his feelings? Maybe he'd still be here and I wouldn't be telling a crying Lara that she might never see Ford again.

I hugged Lara before we left; she had stopped crying and was seeing us off. She was talking to me about how much she appreciated John and I coming to tell her personally. As I looked at John out of the corner of my eye I could see him with his stony expression, half the time while we had been sitting in there he had been staring at a photo of Ford in his uniform.

"You'll let us know if anything happens?" Lara asked me as we stood on the porch.

"Of course, I wont stop looking until I know what happened to him, I promise you," I told her as she smiled and took my hand in hers.

"Thank you, both of you," she said to John and I. Lara closed the door as John and I walked towards the car. John was silent but then it was broken when I heard my cell phone ring. I jumped, not expecting to hear the ringtone. I looked at the number, not recognizing it as I answered.

"Hello?" I said into the phone.

" _Hi, is this Mia Sumner?"_ I recognized that voice! It was Emily.

"Yeah, how did you get my number?" I asked Emily. She made a spluttering sound.

" _Um, I'm good with technology. Anyway I need to talk to you about something, are you still in Tucson?"_ She asked.

"Yes," I replied. John was looking at me strangely as I just shrugged my shoulders.

" _Can you meet me at Lolita's?"_

"Sure," I replied hesitantly. She hung up as I frowned at my cell phone and looked over at John.

"Who was that?" He asked.

"That girl, the one who I told you ran off, she wants me to meet her at this little café," I said, still confused.

"Why?" John asked.

"I have no idea, she said she needed to talk to me about something."

"She might be a serial killer," John said as I gave him a blank look.

"She's barely seventeen," I said to him. John shrugged.

"You going?" He asked.

"I guess," I said as I got into the car.

* * *

We arrived at the café, it was outside a large outlet mall, I couldn't spot Emily outside so she must've been inside.

"Do you want me to come with you?" John asked as he parked up; for some reason I wanted to meet her alone.

"I'll be alright," I said to him. "If I don't come out in fifteen minutes come get me," I said with a grin. John chuckled as I reached for the door. His hand shot out and took my hand.

"Hey," he said, I turned to face him. "I love you," he said, warming my heart. I grinned, leaned over and kissed him on the mouth.

"I love you," I replied as I got out of the car. I glanced over my shoulder as I got to the door of the café. I saw John watching me like a hawk as I opened the café door and walked in. It was cold inside the café, most of the tables were full but I spotted Emily sitting at one at the back of the café, she was drumming her fingers on the table and biting her bottom lip, she was nervous. I walked over to her, when I got close she glanced up and saw me. Her face went pale and she froze up when she saw me. I sat down opposite her; I thought she was about to pass out.

"Breathe, Emily," I said to her. She let out a long breath. "So just who are you?" I asked her. Emily looked around nervously.

"I shouldn't have done this, I'm sorry!" She said, trying to stand up. I gripped her hand, stopping her from leaving.

"Emily, stop. Tell me, I'm here, you wanted to ask me something?" I said to her. She nodded and then slowly sat back down. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth a few times and shut it again; I didn't want to pressure her so I waited.

"I think we're sisters."

My whole mind shut down. I felt like someone had just hit me in the chest with a sledgehammer, all my breath left me as I sat staring at the girl. Emily was staring at me with her large blue eyes, waiting for me to say something.

"Excuse me?" I managed to stumble out. Emily bit her lip again.

"Half-sisters, but yeah…" she whispered. I was still trying to wrap my head around this. She then dug around in her bag as she pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to me. "I took this from my moms safe, it's my birth certificate, she's never let me see it before because she's never told me who my dad was." She explained as I unfurled the paper. It was from the Tucson hospital.

 _Emily Georgina Banks_

 _Date of Birth: 22_ _nd_ _March 1987_

 _Mother: Naomi Banks_

 _Father: Marshall Sumner_

I looked up at Emily with my jaw slack, she was staring at me like she was about to start bawling her eyes out. And then I really looked at her. Now I could see it, those blue eyes, I had the exact same ones inherited from dad. Her mouth was the same as mine, and her figure was like mine.

"Oh my god," I muttered in disbelief.

"You think I'm crazy," she groaned. "I'm sorry, I'm so stupid for doing this to you, I don't know what I was thinking," she took the birth certificate from me. She put it away and tried to leave again.

"Emily wait!" I said to her, she stopped and stared at me. "Just sit down, this is a lot for me to take in," I said, shaking my head.

"You mean you believe me?" She asked hopefully. I didn't know what to believe. I've never really though about dad ever moving on from mom, I thought even with her gone he was completely devoted to her.

"Just start from the beginning, what makes you think this?" I asked her. She took a deep breath.

"Well ever since I can remember I've always asked my mom about my dad, and she always said the same thing, he's a Marine and that's all I ever need to know. Growing up it was so hard for me to see all my friends talking about their dads, or seeing them with their dads because I didn't know anything about mine. As I got older I kept asking more and more about him but she always got mad and told me to stop asking. One day I overheard her on the phone to my nana telling her the new password to her safe where she keeps my birth certificate so when she left the house I went into it and stole it. I found his name on my birth certificate.

A few weeks later I went to the public records office and I searched up all the Marshall Sumner's in the state. Surprisingly there were only three and out of those three only one was in the Marines," I sat there, my mind reeling. She dug in her bag again. "I printed off a photo of him," she said, handing me a picture that I recognized. It was his official Marine photo, and it was indeed my father. "Then I went to the library and went through the records until I found more information on him. I was pretty shocked to see that he had a daughter, uh, you I guess," she said, smirking. She looked sad. "And then two weeks ago I saw an article in the newspaper with his picture saying that he had been killed while deployed." I could see that finding this out had upset her, I felt for her. She had been wishing her entire life that she could meet her dad, only when she found out who she was he was now dead. "But when I tried to find out any information on you it was all blank, like it was all removed," she said as I smirked. I guess it would, I don't think the SGC wanted anyone to know anything about where I was.

"I'm in the U.S Army, some of the work I do is very top secret so there wouldn't be much on me."

"Cool," she said in awe as I chuckled. We sat in silence awkwardly for a few minutes, she was drumming her fingers on the table again as I ran a hand through my hair, I'd had a very long day today. I was still trying to wrap my head around this, I had a younger sister, half sister but she was blood, my blood. "What was he like?" Emily asked suddenly. It caught me by surprise as I stared at her. She was waiting for me to talk.

"He was a hard ass," I chuckled as Emily grinned. "We never really got along," I admitted to her. She looked down at the table; I guessed it wasn't what she wanted to hear. I sighed heavily. "He was brave," she looked back up at me. "He was a very respected man, he was smart and he always made sure that I got the best education that I could. He always wanted the best for me." Emily was smiling. "He died protecting his country, and even though you never knew him, you should be proud to be his…daughter, I know I am," I told her as Emily wiped away a tear.

"I wish I could've met him, you know?" She whispered sadly. I reached across the table for her hand as she jumped slightly. I held her small hand in my own, I was surprised at myself for being this bold, I thought I was taking the news of my half-sister pretty well.

Something caught her eye over my shoulder as her gaze turned back to me. "There's a really hot guy walking over to us," she said as I laughed. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough John was walking over to us, he looked concerned but when he saw that I was grinning his expression changed into his charming smile that I loved. "You know him?" She asked me in awe.

"He was with me today at the funeral, did you not see him?" I asked her, she shook her head.

"If I did maybe I would've gone up to you then and there, is he your boyfriend?" She asked giddily as John reached us. I gave her a smirk.

"Not a serial killer then?" John asked, smirking at Emily, which caused her face to turn bright red.

"Not exactly," I said to John. He looked at me, perplexed. "She's my little sister," I said to him.

We moved outside after another half an hour of talking, John joined in on our conversation but once the owner said that he was closing up for the day we moved outside. Emily was digging her foot into the sidewalk and playing with her fingers, it was time for us to say goodbye.

"Emily," I said her name as she looked at me, she looked like she was about to cry. "You should tell your mom that you know," I told her. She scoffed.

"I value my life, thank you," she said sarcastically as John barked out a laugh. Yeah, we were definitely related. "I'll be eighteen soon, I'll tell her then," she said as I nodded.

"I'll be shipping out again in a few days, so I might not see you for a while," I said to her as I saw her smile drop. She rubbed her arm.

"Oh, you'll be coming back though, wont you?" She asked me. I bit my lip, nothing was certain with my job. I looked over at John; he wasn't showing much emotion. I sighed and stepped towards her.

"I promise I will, I don't know how long I'll be gone for though, it could be a few months or even a year." Emily wiped her eyes; she had started crying.

"I'm just…I thought that maybe we could hang out, I don't have any other brothers or sisters, it's just me and my mom."

"We will," I told her, "When I'm back we'll spend as much time as you want together, and maybe I'll be there for you when you tell your mom." Emily reached out and hugged me around the waist. I was frozen for a second, not expecting her to do this but I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and hugged her back.

"I'd like that a lot," she whispered to me as I smiled down at her. She pulled away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I better get going, mom will be wondering where I am," she said, grinning. She waved at John.

"Bye," she said to him as John waved at her, she faced me again. "Bye, Mia," she said as I smiled at her.

"Bye, Emily. I'll see you soon," I said to her, causing her to grin as John and I watched her walk away into the car park. John placed his arm around my shoulder; I leaned into him. "Did all of this really just happen?" I asked him. I heard him chuckle. "I never even imagined anything like this…" I said as John made us walk towards the car.

"It's crazy, a lot has happened today," he agreed as he opened my door for me. He bent down and kissed me as I slid into the car.

* * *

"You're being quiet," John said to me as he drove. We were about twenty minutes from granddad's house, I hadn't spoken a word since we had left Tucson, my mind was racing. I couldn't believe it about Emily, she was my half-sister; I had a sister. Speaking to her, I had been calm and cool about it, now I was slightly freaking out. I know that dad obviously hadn't cheated on my mom seeing as she was dead, but it felt like he had. I couldn't believe he had kept this secret from me over half of my life, why didn't he want me to know? Had he been ashamed of having her? Maybe he knew that he was a shitty dad by being away all the time so maybe that's why he never met her. I knew that there was only one person who would know the truth…

"Just thinking," I said to John as I watched the world go by.

"About Emily?" He asked. I nodded, not sure if he had seen but it was obvious that it would be the only thing on my mind right now.

"I just wish he would've told me. I've always wanted a sister, and knowing that I missed out on her life hurts," I said to John. He sought out my hand and held it tightly.

"You know, there's a chance she might not be your sister," John said as I gave him a blank look and scoffed.

"We have the same eyes, the same mouth, nose and the same shitty sarcasm, I don't need a DNA test to tell me that Emily and I are related." John laughed.

We pulled up outside the house, I saw Jenny walking around the house as John turned off the engine and turned in his seat to face me. "You going to ask your granddad about Emily?" He asked, but he probably already knew the answer from the look I gave him. "Thought so," he smirked.

"Dad and him were really close, and I have a sneaking suspicion that maybe granddad was the one who didn't want Emily around." I opened up the door but John held me back.

"Mia, wait," he said as I turned back to face him. "You just made up with him, I know you want answers but try not to say anything you'll regret. Maybe there was a good reason for you not knowing about Emily." I nodded; he had a point.

John and walked up to the house as we walked in, the front door was open. Granddad was sitting on the couch reading the paper. Jenny was walking around tidying up as I went to the opposite couch and sat down. John looked around awkwardly as he spotted some childhood photos of me and began studying them with great interest.

"I need to talk to you," I said to granddad. He looked over his paper at me with his glasses on.

"Shoot," he said, going back to reading. I frowned.

"Without the block please, it's important," I said. Granddad sighed and folded the paper up; he leaned forwards on his knees and removed his glasses, setting them down on the coffee table.

"I'm listening," he said. I met his icy blue gaze.

"I met Emily," I said to him with a strong voice. I saw granddad go blank, as he looked confused, but I knew him, I knew he was faking it.

"Who's that? An old friend of yours?" He asked, trying to be nonchalant about it.

"Don't play dumb with me, I know you know about her, why didn't anyone ever tell me I had a sister?" I ground out through gritted teeth. Granddad scoffed.

"A sister? Mia what on Earth are you going on about?"

"Just stop!" I exclaimed, I saw John look over at me nervously. "Why the lies? It's lie after lie with all of you, just tell me why I was never told about my goddamn sister!" I yelled. Jenny came in, wondering what the hell was going on. I was glaring at granddad as he stared at me with a stony expression. He sighed.

"You're dad was going to tell you when you were eighteen," he said as I reeled back in shock.

"So it's true, Emily is my sister," I stated. I heard Jenny gasp in shock, seems she didn't know either.

"Max, what's going on?" Jenny asked. Granddad sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Yes, Mia. Emily Banks is your half-sister." Jenny came and sat down next to me as she wrapped an arm around me. I saw John excuse himself as he went into another room, as much as I wanted him here with me, I think he felt uncomfortable.

"Why didn't he tell me?" I asked granddad.

"Because I told him not to," he admitted. And there was the Hail Mary; I knew it. "When you left, I told your dad that you were no longer part of this family, you had dishonored us and therefore shouldn't know about her. I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Emily was never told about dad by her mother."

"When Emily was born, she was the result of a silly one night between your dad and Naomi. Naomi kept Emily a secret until she was three years old. Naomi thought it was best for everyone, your dad was always stationed away and couldn't give Emily the attention that she needed. When your dad returned home one swing Naomi finally told him about Emily so that they could get a DNA test done. After that both parties agreed that for the best interest of everyone involved that no contact would be best."

"Best interest? For who? You! Not having to deal with that shame of dad having a child out of wedlock? That little girl is your _granddaughter_ , she is my sister and I should've been told when dad found out! This was wrong of you, and you know it!" I yelled at him.

"I know," he replied, causing me to fall silent. "When you were eighteen your dad asked me if he could tell you, I said no, but he tried anyway. He wanted you to meet but Naomi and I both agreed that you two shouldn't meet, so Naomi refused to let Emily meet you. She didn't want Emily's world to turn upside down."

"That little girl never got to meet her father," I said angrily. "She told me she wished her entire life that she could meet him, to know his name but her mom refused. Do you even understand what kind of pain you put that girl through? Finding out who her dad was only to go to his funeral two weeks later. Emily's life wouldn't have been turned upside down from meeting us, it would've turned the right way." Granddad fell silent. I could hear Jenny crying softly beside me. I could see the regret on granddad's face; he truly felt remorse for what he had done. I wanted to stay mad at him, but I couldn't, if meeting Emily had taught me anything it was that you really don't know how long you have on the planet, being furious at each other isn't going to make anything better.

"When you told me that Marshall had died, the first thing that popped into my head was how eternally grateful that the two of you had made up and forgiven each other. Do you want to know the second thing I thought of?" Granddad paused. "I thought of Emily, how she would never meet him, and he would never get to see her. He had only seen her the once when she was three, and that hurt more then hearing about his death. I know that I made a mistake, but I was too late to fix that one."

"And that's why you weren't mad at me anymore," I said, putting the pieces together. He nodded. I walked over to granddad and sat down next to him. I reached for his hand as I held it in mine. As I stared at his face I didn't see my granddad, I saw a man who had made too many mistakes in his life and was paying for all of them. He looked so ashamed of himself that it caused me to reach out and hug him. "It's ok, granddad," I whispered to him. He held onto me as I felt him kiss my hairline.

"I love you, Mia," he said to me as I grinned. Granddad and I had been so close when I was a kid, and I was thankful we were getting back to that place once more.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed. Yes I know this chapter may have been boring but the good stuff picks up next chapter! Let me know what you all thought of Mia's sister as she will be returning later on in the season!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Pink Umbrella** \- Yes I'm finally back! I missed posting every week and I'm sad that you think I will break up Mia and John. But we'll just have to see about everything later on wont we?

 **Adela** \- Thank you! And yes it was very cute if i do say so myself!

 **The Real Sina** \- Yes i do like to pride myself on having a large chunk of chapter each week, especially for my return! Yes she got her rank back I was waiting to do that since I started this story! I took major inspiration from Stargate: SG1 with Carter's promotion in the early seasons xD John sneaking out was a complete last minute decision on my part but i'm so happy i did it as it brought us some very cute moments between them. Yeah Ford's family, I know I skipped over most of it but we saw it in the series so I didn't really want to dwell on it too much, as we had more important things to worry about in this chapter!

 **ng674** \- Thank you!


	34. Emergence - Chapter 34

**Hey everyone! So we are now back into the canon parts of Season 2! I know the first two were boring and nothing really happened but now we are getting back into the swing of things once more!**

 _ **WARNING: RATING GOES TO M**_

 **Enough said about that.**

 **Thank you to everyone for leaving your lovely reviews and sticking with me through this! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

The Daedalus was a pretty impressive spaceship. It had all the latest technology, weapons, and navigations systems. The thing I loved about it most? How utterly boring it was onboard. Honestly they couldn't have thought of a more boring way to get back to the Pegasus Galaxy, I don't know how the crew could stand it! There were no windows, no fun of any kind on this vessel. I was sitting in their small mess hall, it was filled with mostly new personal that were coming to Atlantis. While I had been vacationing out in Arizona with my family and John, Elizabeth and Carson had been selecting new medical staff, Rodney picked new science staff and lucky for John all the military were already picked, which was how he was able to get away with leaving the mountain base. All around me excited scientists chatted away about all the new discoveries they were going to make out here, I couldn't count how many times I had rolled my eyes at them. Wait until they see the Wraith for the first time, then they'll wish they were back home in their comfy beds.

I couldn't wait to get back to Atlantis, we'd been stuck on this hunk of junk for just over two weeks now, we we're coming up on our eighteenth day and we'd be reaching Atlantis in another two days and I was seriously excited to sleep in my tiny bed, curled up with John. I wanted to start getting back into my jogging regime and for everything to fall back into normalcy; with the exception of Ford. I sighed as I drank my coffee. Even though I had gotten over the beating he had given me, sometimes I would have nightmares about it. I would wake up in a cold sweat, thinking that the shadows in my small room onboard was Ford coming to attack me. And then after I would calm down, and realize that Ford wasn't here, I'd get sad, I wanted the old Ford back. It had been so hard to tell Lara that she might not ever see her cousin again, seeing the devastation on her face killed me. I wanted to find him, and as soon as we got back to Atlantis I knew that John would help me, we wanted him home, to help him.

I drunk the rest of my coffee as I placed it in the rack on the counter. As I turned around there was a table full of new military sitting in the corner of the room, they caught my attention because as I glanced over at them they had all been staring at me. They all turned their heads and whispered together as I rolled my eyes. No doubt they were curious as to see what Atlantis' second in command was like. John said he received the same treatment from the new soldiers, none had come up to him personally yet but once we got back to Atlantis and we split them off into their off-world teams then they'd realize just who was running Atlantis. I ignored the whispers as I left the commissary. According to the watch on my wrist, it was around ten at night, Atlantis time so the halls were deserted. Though seeing as this vessel was more of a twenty four seven ship there were a few engineers and flight staff walking around, some doing checks and others going to relieve for their shift.

I headed to the living quarters, the ship was extremely large, but it wasn't large enough for every single person on this ship. Some people had to bunk up in some rooms, I was lucky and got my own one, seeing as I'm very important now, I guess that meant I couldn't beat people up in the gym anymore…nah, I could still do that. John's room was a few doors down from mine, but I hadn't even seen inside it, or him inside mine. We hadn't had any contact at all for the past week, for fear of being caught. Even though this ship was large, there were dozens of ears and camera's everywhere. We didn't want to risk being overhead or looking at each other in some way. So it had been a very lonely two weeks. The last time we had been together was back at my granddad's house, which had been an awkward encounter as Jenny had accidently walked in. In my defense the woman said she was going out but then literally changed her mind without telling me, so she had gotten an eyeful of John's butt. She probably didn't mind to be honest; she fawned over him, literally. Needless to say I was so grateful when I got a call from Elizabeth asking me to return to the base, as we'd be leaving the next day. John had departed from Arizona back to D.C using the private charter that his dad owned and then got a flight from D.C to Colorado. I felt bad for him, but he was the one who decided to make the trip, he could suffer the long plane rides.

As I entered my room I shook off my jacket and pulled off my shoes, I changed into my nightclothes of a shirt and undies as I climbed under my covers and fell asleep.

* * *

I was asleep for only a few hours when someone was knocking on my door loudly; I rubbed my eyes. I thought about putting pants on but I couldn't be bothered, whoever dared to stare would be getting a fist in the eye. I pressed the button for the door to open, it revealed John who was standing with his arms crossed and his serious look. I leant against the doorframe as I saw him tense up.

"There's been an accident," he said. I could tell it was hard for him to not look anywhere but my face at the moment. My long legs were on display and he couldn't touch them, which was killing him.

"What's happened?" I asked falling back into my room as John followed me in. The door closed behind him as I hurried over to my uniform and started pulling my pants on.

"Doctor Monroe's been killed, Elizabeth want's all of us there," he said as I yanked off my pajama shirt and pulled on my black one. I caught him staring as I smirked.

"We're almost back at Atlantis," I said to him. He pressed his lips into a firm line as I laced up my boots.

"Counting the seconds," he said as I smirked at him. Once I was ready we both left my quarters together and headed down to the engineering sector.

When we arrived I saw Carson, Rodney, Elizabeth and Caldwell. Some medical staff were carting off Monroe's body in the bag as I moved out of the way for the trolley.

"How did he die?" Caldwell asked. Since being onboard the Daedalus I hadn't seen much of the Colonel, he still pissed me off, ever since I had the briefing back on Earth and it was blatantly obvious that he wanted John and I gone I wasn't the same around him. He made me on edge. Elizabeth had been the one to tell me that Caldwell had actually wanted the position of Military leader on Atlantis but she had put up a good fight for John and that was why he had been promoted. And because of that he was always salty towards John and I, so I mostly stayed out of his way.

"I'm not a hundred percent certain, but there were burn marks on his fingertips," Carson said to Caldwell. John moved more inside the room as he examined a panel on the wall.

"Obviously there was a short," he said, pointed at it. "Panel's open, circuits are charred."

"There's not enough juice in those circuits to kill anyone," Caldwell said.

"I'll know more once I've had a chance to examine the body more thoroughly," Carson said to Caldwell and John. Elizabeth looks over at Rodney who is sitting at the console.

"Do you know what he was working on?" Elizabeth asked him. Rodney swung around in the chair.

"It was computer diagnostics, strictly routine. I've got security camera footage," he said as he swung back around and brought up the video screen. We all moved in closer to watch. I see Doctor Monroe working at the station, he gets up and moves over to another one, he's working on it then the screen suddenly goes static.

"What happened there?" Elizabeth asked. Rodney begins pressing buttons on the console.

"I don't know, it's a camera malfunction."

"Right before he was killed? Interesting coincidence," John said from beside me.

"Actually," Rodney said, looking over his shoulder, "I think it makes sense. Colonel Caldwell was right, there's not enough juice in those circuits to kill someone—at least not normally."

"What are you thinking?" Elizabeth asked him.

"It's possible there was some sort of isolated power surge in this section—that would explain the lost camera, the malfunctioning door…"

"So, when the door controls didn't respond, he took out the panel to bypass the circuits and received a fatal jolt?" Caldwell asked him.

"Like I said, it's possible. Look, I recommend we drop out of hyperspace, run a full diagnostic on the power distribution systems—"

"No," Caldwell interrupted Rodney, "If we drop out now, we risk being detected."

"That's true," Rodney argued, "I just think that if we—"

"We'll be back in Atlantis in less than two days. You can do your diagnostic them," Caldwell said.

"Colonel, are you sure that's wise?" Elizabeth asked him. I saw Caldwell look irritated as he spoke to her.

"With all due respect, Doctor, you got back to Earth through the Stargate. This is my third round trip on the Daedalus between galaxies," Caldwell said with a pointed look.

"I understand that," Elizabeth argued, "but this ship is relatively new. There might be some problems—"

"Doctor," Caldwell interrupted, looking ticked off, "A word please?" Caldwell asked as the two of them move outside the room.

I looked over at Rodney who was furiously typing away at the keyboard, my gaze then turned to John. I had caught him staring at me as I felt my cheeks flush red, what I wouldn't give to be at home in Atlantis sleeping in his arms. I sighed heavily, and John seemed to get the message also as he smirked at me. I looked away and back to Rodney when I remembered that we weren't alone and there were cameras around us.

"Need any help?" I asked Rodney as I leaned down next to him.

"Yeah," he said, pointing to one of the side computers, "I want to know every single person who came in here since this morning," he ordered as I rolled me eyes at him. I sat down at the computer as John excused himself from the room, I watched him go with a depressed look. I just wish we didn't have to hide our relationship, that we could be together in public. It was torture acting like we were just comrades and the thing that really killed me was the looks I had seen some of the new female scientists give him. I had caught a young brunette, she was maybe my age or older staring at him and trying to catch his attention one night while John, Rodney and myself had been eating dinner. Rodney had asked me why my face looked like a moldy potato and I had replied with an "I don't like the food". And then to make matters worse the silly brunette had come over to our table introducing herself, mainly to John.

* * *

" _Hi, I'm Daphne Webster," Daphne said. I eyed her up with scorn in my eyes. She was smaller than me, but had bigger assets, which made me insanely jealous. Her hair was perfect and fell in ringlets; she had amazing brown eyes and naturally olive skin. "I'm new to the botanist team and I thought I'd come say hello to you all," she said, giving Rodney and I a one second glance then focused her attention back onto John. Rodney was pouting from the obvious display of affection that he wasn't receiving from Daphne. Honestly, who calls their kid Daphne? All I can think of is Scooby Doo._

" _Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard," John said, shaking her outstretched hand. I glared at their contact as I stabbed my fork into my mashed potato._

" _I've heard so much about you," Daphne said flirtatiously, I wanted to yack. John then looked uncomfortable as he took his hand away and cleared his throat._

" _I'm Doctor Rodney McKay, head of the Science Department. PhD in Astrophysics and Mechanical Engineering," Rodney butted in; trying to sound cool. But I had a feeling little miss Daphne wasn't into the science type. She sent him a polite smile but turned her attention back to John._

" _I've been reading up on all of the reports on the Wraith, they seem terrifying," she placed a hand on his upper arm as I squeezed my fork in the palm of my hand. "You're so brave to go out there and fight them everyday," she said, batting her eyelashes._

" _I have a great team," John said, trying to move away from her._

" _I heard there's a spot free on your team, maybe you could use a botanist?" She said, using her charm. I glaring at her so hard I was hoping her stupid hair was going to catch on fire. John looked flabbergasted as Daphne gave his arm another squeeze. I wanted to squeeze her stupid neck. "Think about it, Colonel," she said as she turned and walked off, swaying her hips excessively._

" _Why do you get all the hot chicks?" Rodney whined to John once she was out of earshot._

" _She's not my type really," John said. He glanced over at me, he saw the mess my mashed potato's were in and how tightly I was still gripping onto my fork as he held in his smile._

" _Well good, gives me a chance for once," Rodney said, grinning._

" _I don't think you're her type," John said, chuckling. Rodney rolled his eyes._

" _I think the only person on this entire expedition who doesn't think the sun shines out of your ass is Major Sumner over here," Rodney said, jabbing a finger in my direction. My anger was gone, replaced with laughter as I burst out laughing at Rodney's comment. Oh, the irony._

* * *

"I found something," Rodney said to me an hour later. I looked up from the computer screen as I rolled my chair over to him.

"What?" I asked him. He was smashing at the keyboard with his fingers.

"Look here," he pointed to the screen as I looked at it. "It says here that the spike happened at zero-one-thirty, but the camera went off thirty seconds before the spike happened," Said Rodney.

"So it wasn't a malfunction, someone did this," I stated. Rodney had a look of dread of his face.

"I need to go tell Caldwell, go fill in Sheppard and Elizabeth," he ordered as he jumped out of his chair and ran out of the room.

I went to Elizabeth first, she was sitting in the commissary as I filled her in on what Rodney had found. She seemed concerned for our safety but I reassured her that if anyone can figure this out, Rodney could. She had chuckled and agreed with me as I waved her off and headed to John's room. I was kind of excited, I had a reason to go and see him and maybe spend some time with him. But then I also thought against it, someone was tampering with the ships cameras and systems; I didn't want my visit looking bad on both of us. I scratched my head in thought as I arrived at the living quarters and weaved through the halls. I doubt that whoever was messing with the cameras would be focusing on the living quarters, they'd be checking all the important system stations or whatever.

I arrived at John's door as I knocked three times and waited; I looked over my shoulder. Knowing that someone or something had killed Monroe had me concerned, was someone on board trying to get us all killed? The door opened a second later as I turned my head back to look at John who looked ecstatic to see me.

"Rodney found something about Monroe's death, I thought I should come tell you personally," I said to him, my voice loud so that if there were people around they would know why I was seeing him. John moved out of the way so that I could enter into his room that was a mirror of my own. I glanced around his room, his bed was unmade and the small nightstand was stacked with various papers.

"Monroe's death wasn't a random malfunction," I said, turning to face him. John stepped closer to me.

"Does Rodney know what happened?" John asked. I shrugged.

"It's possible that someone on board may be tampering with the systems, Rodney's gone to brief Caldwell on it." John looked concerned as he rubbed his chin with his hand. He then rubbed his face.

"Ok, until this is figured out I don't want you going near any of the main computer systems alone," John said.

"But—" I went to argue but he cut me off.

"No buts, Mia. One person has already been killed," he said as I held his gaze for a few seconds, then I sighed.

"Fine," I grumbled, pouting. I crossed my arms over my chest as John stepped closer so that our bodies were touching. His hands rubbed my shoulders tenderly as a shiver shot up my spine. We hadn't been like this in over two weeks; it was killing me. I knew that we both said to not to do anything of the sort while we were in the small confines of the Daedalus. I had gone so long without even hugging him, or kissing him that a strong desire took over me, and I could see the restraint that John had to use in his tense jaw and wondering eyes. I threw caution to the wind as I reached for his shirt; I pulled him down to me. The taste of his lips on mine threw me into frenzy as I clawed at his shirt, pulling it off his body. His own deft fingers were hastily unbuttoning my trousers, his knuckles brushed against the skin of my lower stomach as I moaned into his mouth after throwing his shirt over my shoulder. He began to shimmy my trousers down my legs, taking my underwear with it as his rough hands brushed over my thighs and calves. I stepped out of them, using my foot to kick them away as I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my clothed upper body to his naked torso. His hands gripped onto my thighs tightly as I jumped, hooking my legs around his hips. He kissed along my jaw as I tilted my head to the side, giving him access to the sweet spot that he always gravitated to. He carried me to the bed and sat me down with my legs still secured around him. His lips returned to mine as my hands roamed over his toned chest. God I had missed feeling his skin on mine. I raked my nails down his back as he pressed his lips harder against mine, biting down on my bottom lip. His hands made work of my shirt, dipping under and quickly pulling it off my body and throwing it away, his lips on mine once more as his hands began to knead my breasts.

"Yes, John," I hissed at him as I threw my head back. Just having him kiss my chest and touch me was driving me insane. My hands couldn't stop touching his body; it was like I had forgotten what he looked like under his clothes. My fingers were already at the buttons on his pants as I made work of unzipping them and roughly pulling them down, taking his boxers with them. Before I even got a chance to admire the thing I had been wanting for over two weeks he pulled me up and spun me around, bending me over the bed. I grinned to myself as I gripped the sheets below me in anticipation; I tossed my hair over my shoulder as I looked at him. He was admiring the view and licking his lips.

"God I missed this," he growled out as his hand gently caressed my backside. I moaned loudly as I felt his finger brush over my lips. "Shush, Mia. Quiet remember," he said to me as I nodded. I felt his fingers move dangerously close to my center as I wriggled around, I needed him desperately. And then I felt him at my entrance; I fisted the sheets even harder as I bit down on my lip, waiting for him. In a smooth motion he sheathed himself inside of me, I heard John groan as my mouth parted open from the rush of euphoria. I felt whole once more, like everything in the world was right once again now that we were together again. It had been so long, so painfully long from not having him; it felt glorious to be with him again. He began to move, faster and faster. I couldn't even think, all I could feel was his hands roaming over my back, one moved around my stomach and to my breast and his other gripped my hips tightly. We settled into a rhythm, and I could feel the knot growing with every second, I wouldn't be able to hold out for long. At this angle I could feel everything, my arms started to tire and shake as I fell onto the mattress, pressing my face into the sheets to muffle my cries of pleasure. I could hear John hissing through gritted teeth as his grip became painful on my hips as I could feel myself almost at my release. My moans got louder so I had to press my face harder into the mattress; no way in hell was I going to ruin this for us because I couldn't shut my big mouth. With an almighty thrust into me and a hard groan from John I felt the warm seed enter me as he bucked a few times, at the same time my own orgasm hit me as I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle my cry. We both rode it out for at least a minute before I came down from my high. I felt John's sweaty chest press against my back as he kissed my neck tenderly as he removed himself from me as I rolled over and collapsed onto my back on his bed.

"Jesus Christ," I gasped out, breathless. John climbed on top of me as he pressed a kiss to my lips.

"I've been called worse," he said with a grin as I burst out laughing.

" _Colonel Sheppard please report to the Power System Center immediately."_ A voice said over the comms as John shut his eyes in annoyance. I reached up and caressed his cheek.

"Duty calls," I whispered against his lips as I kissed him. He nodded and climbed off me, as we both got dressed again. Our gazes kept meeting every few seconds, both of us wanting to continue again but knowing that it was too risky. What had just happened had been stupid for both of us; the door hadn't been locked so anyone could've walked in. And these walls weren't that thick, someone could have heard me and my big mouth.

* * *

John told me to go with him to the power center, it wouldn't be strange for his second in command to be with him with situations, but once we got here everything changed.

"Rodney! Are you ok?" I exclaimed as John and I hurried over to him. He was currently having an oxygen mask pressed against his mouth, the door next to him was sealed shut, it was the door to the power room and it was never closed, only in hull breaches. Carson, Caldwell and Elizabeth were also present here as Rodney nodded.

"What happened?" John asked anyone.

"Lindstrom was killed while they were in the room," Caldwell said. I turned to look at Rodney; he looked away, as he pulled the mask off his face.

"I'm fine," he said to Carson. Carson checked his pulse and put away his stethoscope.

"He's right—it appears he didn't inhale enough toxins to cause any permanent damage," Carson pushed the mask back onto his face as Rodney had let it drop. "Although a few more seconds of exposure and it would have been quite a different story," Carson said.

"Thank you, Doctor," Caldwell said to Carson as the doctor packed up his things and went on his way. I watched Rodney take a few deep breaths from the mask.

"I assume this time we can definitely rule out random malfunctions?" Caldwell said.

"Lindstrom found something, he was trying to tell me what it was when the leak happened," Rodney said after lowering the mask.

"What were you looking for?" Elizabeth asked him.

"We were trying to trace the source of the power spike that killed Doctor Monroe," Rodney explained. Caldwell thought for a second.

"Who else knew what you were doing?" He asked him.

"A lot of people knew we were running diagnostics but no one knew we were in that particular room at that exact moment.

"Security camera's," John said from beside me as I turned to look at him with everyone else. "If the person who killed Monroe was able to get into the system to erase evidence, there's no reason he couldn't do that same thing to keep tabs on the investigation." Rodney took another deep breathe from his oxygen mask.

"Assuming it's a _he_ ," Rodney implied. I saw Caldwell's eyes glance over at me for a split second before looking back at Rodney. I frowned, he couldn't possibly think that I had anything to do with this, was he nuts?

"How many personnel on board have the technical skills to do something like this?" Caldwell asked.

"Almost everybody," Rodney exclaimed, "That's what you get for assembling a team of brilliant scientists," he said with sarcasm.

"I can't believe it would be one of our own people," Elizabeth said in disbelief, "Isn't it possible there's an intruder on board?"

"We used the life signs detector to do a head count. We didn't get any extra signals," Caldwell explained.

"Well, a hibernating Wraith—they can avoid detection," Elizabeth said with a pointed look.

"They've done it before," I said to Caldwell.

"They beam in, lay low then look for a chance to conduct sabotage," John finished for me.

"That was on Atlantis," Caldwell remarked, "It's been at least two months since this ship encountered the Wraith. There's no way one of them could have stowed on board for that long." I wanted to argue about the Wraith that John and Rodney had encountered on the planet near the satellite, that Wraith had survived ten thousand years.

"He's right," Rodney interrupted my thoughts, "they did a full contamination sweep back on Earth. They would've found something."

"Alright then," Caldwell said as he turned to one of his officers standing next to him. "As of this moment I want all civilian personnel confined to their quarters," Caldwell instructed. What? Did he really just do that to Elizabeth?

"What?" She said in outrage. Caldwell turned back to her with a smirk.

"Present company excluded, of course."

"Uh, Colonel," Rodney said hesitantly, raising his hand, "With all due respect, some of those people could be extremely helpful in the investigation."

"I'm sorry Doctor," he said but I don't think he meant it sincerely, "but I can't trust any of them for the simple reason that I didn't have any say in their selection," he glanced over at Elizabeth as he gives her a pointed look. "Somebody else was in charge of that process."

* * *

"It's Wraith?" I exclaimed to John. He had just informed me about what Rodney had found out. "How is that even possible?" I said in disbelief as I rubbed my face. So the ship was infected with a Wraith computer virus that was currently taking ahold of our ship and it was now transmitting a beacon of our location so that any Wraith ships in the area would be able to find us, and eat us.

"I'm flying out to go and destroy the transmitter, we need it off now," he said. I felt my heart race.

"Is that dangerous?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Easy as pie, I've got to do this otherwise we're sitting ducks out here," he explained. I bit my lip and looked at him with what I called my concerned gaze. Seeing as everyone was confined to their quarters there was no one around to see and hear us, but I was still cautious, and I didn't like that fact that some alien virus could be watching us through the cameras right now.

"Be careful," I told him quietly.

"Always am," he replied with a smirk as I watched him walk off to the fighter bay. I rubbed my face; I had a bad feeling about this. John had said that the virus was an A.I, that it could think and protect itself, what if it knew that John was taking out the F302 and did something to harm him. I couldn't worry about that now, I needed to go up to the bridge and help Rodney with trying to rid us of this thing.

I arrived and stood next to Elizabeth; she was standing with her arms crossed as she stared out of the large window at the front of the ship.

"Alright, Colonel," Caldwell said to John over to radio, "we've evacuated all sections in the vicinity of the array and sealed the bulkheads."

" _Understood,"_ Came John's reply.

"All personnel prepare for impact," Caldwell said over the ships radio system. We waited a few seconds before the ship jolted, I held onto the console closest to me as we rode it out. "What's our status?" Caldwell asked his officer.

"Transmitter is offline. Distress signal has been disabled," he replied. Next to me, Elizabeth sighed in relief.

"Well done, Colonel—return to the ship," Caldwell instructed John.

" _With pleasure,"_ I heard the smirk in his voice. " _Uh, there's a problem,"_ he continued as I felt my stomach drop. " _My controls aren't responding."_ I clamped my eyes shut. I knew this was a bad idea.

"Say again?" Caldwell asked John.

" _Well, the Daedalus is behind me. I can't seem to turn around. I am however, picking up speed."_

"I should have seen this coming," Rodney said from the other side of me as I glared at him. Jesus Rodney, you'd think with that big head of yours you would have thought about this before hand! "The navigational software on the F302 is compatible with our sublight systems which have been infected. The virus must have uploaded itself onto his ship."

"You only thought of this then?" I said in outrage. He turned to me, looking apologetic.

"I was to preoccupied with figuring out a way to disable the transmitter," he said to me.

"What about the transport beam?" Elizabeth offered.

"That would work. Those systems are still clean," Rodney said, hurrying over to a console.

"John, this is Elizabeth. Rodney seems to think the virus has taken over your ship, so we're going try to beam you out," she explained to him.

" _Acknowledged."_

"Stand by," she relayed to him. Rodney turns around slowly from his console.

"Uh, slight problem," he said nervously.

"What?" Elizabeth asked him as I focused all my attention on him.

"The transport beam is tied to an Asgard sensor—it's what we use to lock on targets."

"So?"

"So that particular piece of equipment was located in the array that we just destroyed," Elizabeth looks over at me worriedly. Rodney snaps his fingers, looking like he just had a brilliant idea. "I can key the system to onto his radio signal. That's what they used to do on the Prometheus before they had Asgard sensors."

"You'd better do it quick," Caldwell butted in, "Because in about three minutes he's going to be out of range." Rodney spins around again, typing away at the console, muttering to himself as Elizabeth hits her radio.

"John, we've run into a slight snag. Rodney just has to make a few adjustments before we can get you out of there."

" _Ok,"_ John says nervously through the radio.

"Don't worry—we're not about to give up on you just yet," Elizabeth said, smirking.

It took Rodney about a minute to be ready, he nodded to Elizabeth as she turned on her radio and called out for John a few times, but he didn't respond. I was panicking, was he out of range? Had the virus corrupted his ship some more?

"John are you still there?" Elizabeth asked desperately into the radio.

" _Go ahead,"_ came his reply as I breathed a sigh of relief. Elizabeth looked relieved also; she had probably been thinking the same thing.

"We're going to use your radio to target the transport beam. We'll have you out in just a minute."

" _Sounds good. So I'm still in range, right?"_ He asked hesitantly. Elizabeth and I look at Rodney as he covers his microphone.

"Truth is, this has never been tested from this distance," he said to us.

"Rodney seems to think you'll be ok," she said, trying to lighten his spirits.

" _Well, that's good. Wouldn't want to leave any parts behind,"_ John said with sarcasm.

"I'm ready. I'm beaming him directly to the bridge," Rodney announced. I covered my eyes.

"I can't look," I groaned, turning away. All I could think about was him being beamed through a wall or getting stuck in space. I heard the whooshing noise and I saw a bright white light through the gaps in between my fingers.

"Are you alright?" I heard Elizabeth ask as I pull my hands away. John in standing there unsure about himself, he holds his hands out.

"Yeah, two arms, ten fingers," he pauses and looks down, "I'll check the rest later." I smirk. As Caldwell turns to look at Rodney my gaze moves back to John. He was staring at me and grinned as I smirked back at him, thankful that he was safe and in one piece.

"Alright, Doctor I've had enough of this. I'd like to have my ship back," Caldwell said to Rodney.

* * *

"I have them on my screen," Hermiod said to Elizabeth and I as we stood in the Engine room. The screen behind the Asgard lit up and two triangles representing John's F302 and the A.I controlled one came up. "The computer controlled ship is preparing to fire," Hermiod informed us. Elizabeth glances over at my in concern as we watch the screen. Suddenly John's ship brakes and slips behind the A.I one. I grin.

"Nice move," Elizabeth says.

"Damn," I say in awe.

"Indeed," Hermiod agrees. We watch the screen again. Something beeps on Hermiod's console. "Radiation levels in the Colonel's ship are beginning to rise." I bite my bottom lip nervously. The screen flickers for a few seconds before it goes dark.

"What happened?" Elizabeth asks Hermiod.

"They are approaching the corona sphere. There is too much interference," he says as I grip the console tightly, hurting my fingers.

"Come on," I whisper to myself.

"How long can they survive those radiation levels?"

Hermiod sighs, "I believe it has already been too long," he says in defeat. Elizabeth looks powerless as she touches her radio.

"John can you hear me?" She says into it. "Rodney, come in." She meets my gaze as I look at Hermiod. I couldn't really tell what emotion the Asgard had, if they had any at all.

" _Daedalus this is Sheppard,"_ I sigh in relief as Elizabeth grins, " _Target is destroyed. I repeat; target is destroyed. If you try one more shutdown I think it might just work,"_ John said.

"Well done, both of you," Elizabeth praises them. "You had us a little worried there for a minute."

" _Sorry about that,"_ John said apologetically.

" _This is Caldwell. We'll rendezvous as soon as we've eradicated the virus once and for all,"_ Caldwell said over the comms.

" _Roger that. Sheppard out."_ The line went dead as I turned to face Elizabeth, she was still grinning.

* * *

I met John and Rodney at the fighter bay doors, we'd just completed the shutdown and the virus was gone, thankfully. The doors opened and I burst out laughing, their faces were bright red.

"Don't say anything," Rodney warned, pointing his finger at me. I held up my hands in mock surrender.

"I wasn't going to," I said, chuckling. Rodney rolled his eyes as he grumbled something under his breath and stormed off. I turned to John; he was smirking at me. "I think I could fry an egg on that forehead," I said jokingly as John rolled his eyes too.

"Very funny, this is the thanks I get for saving everyone, again?" He said teasingly as he crossed his arms.

"Well done, Colonel. Once again you've proven to Caldwell that you're more then just a pretty face," I said with delight as John laughed.

"How long now until we reach Atlantis?" He asked as we walked down the corridor.

"Just under a day," I told him.

"Good, I can't wait to sleep in my own bed once more," he said, giving me a flirty side look.

"I can't wait to beat up all the new recruits," I said, grinning and rubbing my hands together.

"Hey, you're the second in command now, you've got to show some restraint."

"Fine, I'll try not to send them all to the infirmary, but honestly, how else am I going to prove to them that I deserve to be where I am?"

"Just give them that famous Mia Sumner glare, sure as hell scares me," he said, chortling. I laughed loudly as we walked into the commissary for dinner.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed! Thank you everyone for reviewing and alerting and all that jazz it means a lot to me!  
**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you! Yes I know it was a bit of a plot twist but I had actually been planning on doing this since the start of the story.

 **Pink Umbrella** \- Yeahhh I know but I only had so much to get through before I had to continue on with the story, and it all comes into play later on don't worry.

 **Guest 64** \- Aw thank you! I'm glad that everyone is happy with having John be there for her, shows how much he actually cares about her! I'm glad you like the sister twist, I was a little worried about how people would take it, I know it was rushed but I had to get it in there without dragging it through another chapter.

 **mc arno** \- Thank you for reading the story even though it's not your first language judging by your review! I managed to translate some of it so thank you


	35. Emergence - Chapter 35

**Hey guys! So were finally getting to the good parts now. In this chapter I do a little of a switcheroo of POV's. It's nothing drastic but as the season goes on I start to do this more and more. But it's only from John's perspective I don't do anyone else. Let me know what you think of it so I can see if you guys still want to read it like this for season 3, if not i'll ditch it all together but hopefully you'll like it as it'll give you an insight into John's head! Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing, means a lot to me!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"Teyla!" I cried out in delight as I saw the Athosian woman standing in the control room. I ran over to her and collided with her small body, wrapping my arms around her and squeezing her tightly. "I am so glad to see you!" I said to her. Teyla laughed and hugged me back.

"I have missed you also, Atlantis has been very quiet and accident free without you being here," she said, making a jab at me. I pulled back, making a hurt face.

"Are you making fun of me?" I asked, faking offence. Teyla laughed.

"Just a little." I rolled my eyes at her as the rest of the party came into the control room. Teyla looked over at them all and smiled at them. "Doctor Weir, Doctor McKay, Doctor Beckett, welcome back," John had come to stand beside me as Teyla looked at the both of us. "And Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard and Major Sumner. Congratulations to you both," she said. I grinned at her.

"Thank you," John said to her. "Anything happed while we were gone?"

"There has been no sign of the Wraith. It would appear that they continue to believe that Atlantis has been destroyed, but I understand that your trip was not so happily uneventful," she said with sympathy to us all. Trying not to laugh at John and Rodney's peeling faces.

"No, not exactly," Elizabeth confirms.

"My nose is peeling!" Rodney exclaims as I silently laugh. "Do you have that moisturizer?" He demands off Carson.

"Yes, Rodney," Carson sighs.

"Well, we should get that," Rodney orders.

"Yes, Rodney," Carson sighs as he smirks behind Rodney's back at us as he follows the Astrophysicist out of the control room.

"Any word from your off-world contacts?" John asks Teyla.

"We have received several intelligence reports. However, as of yet there is no news of Lieutenant Ford," she explained.

"I'd like to read those reports, if you don't mine," he said with his charming grin. Teyla held out the data pad she was holding.

"I thought you might—I prepared you this copy." John took the tablet.

"Thank you," he looks round at the three of us. "Ladies." Before he turns fully he meets my gaze, silently telling me to come with him.

"I'd like to read them too," I said to Teyla and Elizabeth. "You know, having the burden of Second in Command and all." Teyla and Elizabeth laugh as I hurry after John. Hopefully it didn't seem like I wanted to be around him, but honestly, I couldn't care if those two figured it out. They probably had their suspicions.

* * *

The next day John and I both woke up early cuddled up under his sheets, my face was pressed into the crook of his neck as his arms wound around my body as his fingers traced circles over my skin. I held him tighter, telling him that I was awake.

"Good morning," he said sleepily as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"Morning," I said, yawning as I stretched out in his arms. "It's so nice to be waking up here again," I muttered as I rubbed my eyes from the crusty sleep dust. I felt John nuzzle his face into my neck.

"Especially like this," he whispered into my ear. I grinned as I turned my head and quickly kissed him on the lips.

"We better get up," I said to him.

"Why?" he whined. I chuckled and tried to sit up in the bed but he pulled me back down.

"Because we have to brief the new recruits this morning, remember?" He groaned loudly and fell backwards onto the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes. I smacked his bare stomach playfully as he winced. "You want to make a good impression, don't you?" I quirked a brow at him, he sighed.

"Yes," he hissed. I threw my body on top of his and straddled him.

"Then get up, get dressed and look half decent," I said, leaning down to kiss his chest.

"Half decent?" He asked with a laugh. I rolled my eyes as he took his arm away from his eyes.

"Yes, half decent, because I don't want any snotty science or Military brats thinking they can sink their claws into you. You're mine," I said. John grinned, lust filling his hazel eyes. His hands skimmed up my thighs, as I had to suppress a shudder.

"It goes for you too, darling," he said huskily. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I never look half decent anyway," I said to him. He shook his head and sat up so that we were now eye level.

"You're the most gorgeous thing that these men are going to be seeing for a long time, even if you don't see it, I do. And it's going to be torture for me to know what these men are to be going thinking about you and not being able to do this in public," he said pulling me to him and planting a hard kiss on my lips. I felt them bruise against his force as his stubble tickled my chin and cheeks. I pulled away, grinning.

"I'll be sure to be extra scary and mean then," I told him as he smirked.

"I don't think that'll turn them away, didn't for me," he said cheekily. I rolled my eyes and got off him. I pulled on my gym clothes that I had come to his room in.

"I'm going for a run, I'll see you in the conference room," I told him as he headed for the bathroom, rubbing his face. I admired the view of his butt as he threw me a grin over his shoulder.

* * *

John Sheppard stood at the front of the conference room with his arms crossed and back straight. His eyes scanned over the new recruits that the SGC had sent him. Some were seasoned soldiers and other were young men and woman who looked around the room, wide-eyed and talking rapidly to each other. He counted around eleven new female soldiers sitting amongst the group; he smirked to himself. _Mia will be glad_ , he thought. He remembered her talking to him about how there was a lack of female soldiers around the base, he had countered her argument saying that there were plenty of female scientists but she had rolled her eyes saying that whenever she brought up blood and guts the scientists ran away.

He looked over to his right and frowned, what else would he expect from her? To actually be early for once? He sighed and faced the recruits once more.

"Alright, I know you're all bound to be excited to be here," John said, catching their attention as the chatter settled down and all heads turned to face him. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard, I am your Commanding Officer here in Atlantis, you will be reporting to me and to Doctor Weir. Now, you were all assigned rooms on your arrival here and over the next week myself and Major Sumner will be observing your skills and training to determine what teams and duties you will have on this base." There were footsteps outside the room as the door opened and Mia came hurrying inside. She had a big grin plastered on her face as she met John's gaze for a second, in that second John was able to see what she looked like. Her honey colored hair was loose and hung around her shoulders, framing her oval face. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she placed her hands on her slim waist as she looked over the group in the conference room. John's gaze went around the room quickly as he felt his jaw tense, every single man in the room was staring at her like she was a piece of meat. Mia was oblivious as always, she honestly didn't realize what effect she had on people. John cleared his throat as attention went back to him. "This is my Second in Command, Major Sumner. If I'm not around, she's in charge, and if she's not around, try not to do anything stupid," John said with a chuckle as he saw Mia grin out of the corner of his eye. "Does anyone have any questions before we split up?" John asked the group. A few hands rose as John and Mia spoke to them, some asked about the Wraith, others asked about the routine on the base and then a youngish looking boy raised his hand.

"You," Mia said to him, pointing. The boy, no older then twenty-five smirked to his friend and looked at Mia.

"Is it true that you've put half the base in the infirmary?" He asked her as Mia smirked.

"Maybe not half, but a fair few. If you ever want to try your skills out on me I'm in the gym everyday in the evening," she said, crossing her arms. John tried to hide his grin as he watched most of the men nod to each other, from personal experience he knew how hard her right hook was, they were in for quite a shock. John clapped his hands together.

"Alright, lets split up. Half come with me and the other half with Major Sumner, and enjoy your stay in Atlantis," he said as the groups split up. It came as no surprise that Mia had all the women and most of the younger men in her side of the group.

* * *

A few weeks later, everyone was settled back into a normal routine on Atlantis. My team and I had gone on a few missions, but mostly it was revisiting old planets that we had been to before to check up on the people there. My favorite planet to visit was always the kid planet, they were always so happy to see us and I loved playing with the small children. We hadn't been there for a good few months and when we did Keras, the elder had told us that he was expecting another child. We were all delighted for him and wished him all the best.

John and I spent most days together, either cooped up in his room or mine reading or in the gym sparring together when we weren't out on missions. While we were out on missions we were completely professional, but it wouldn't stop wondering gazes or even the briefest of touches, Rodney and Teyla were completely oblivious to them, everything seemed to be going perfectly, until now.

" _Colonel Sheppard please have your team report to the control room immediately,"_ I heard the technicians voice over the comms as I looked up from the book I was reading. John was sitting at his desk currently typing up a report about Major Lorne whom had been doing really well as leader of his unit. He looked over his shoulder at me, confused. I bookmarked my book as I set it down on the bed as I climbed off as John stood next to me.

"Whose off-world at the moment?" I asked him as I laced up my boots.

"Lorne's team and Daniels team," he said to me as he shrugged on his jacket. Once we were both ready we left his room, not before he had gone first to make sure the coast was clear.

We climbed up the stairs and spotted Lorne in Elizabeth's office speaking with her. We both shared a look as we headed that way; it seemed to be the only thing out of place up here. We crossed the catwalk as Lorne and Elizabeth noticed us and faced us.

"Colonel, Major," Lorne greeted us with a nod.

"What's happened?" John asked him. Lorne turned serious.

"We found a lone dead Wraith on P3M-736. It was shot, sir," Lorne explained as I felt my eyebrows rise. There were only a few races we had come across that used bullets; my first guess would be the Genii. But why was that Wraith out there alone?

"Any other activity?"

"No sir, no darts or signs of any other Wraith," said Lorne.

"Is the gate covered?" John asked him as Lorne nodded.

"Coughlin and Reed, yeah." Footsteps behind me made me turn as Teyla walked into the room.

"We found a dead Wraith. Shot several times," John informed Teyla, she looked surprised.

"Looked like bullets," Lorne guessed, "but it's hard to say. The guy was a mess."

"The Genii use such weapons," Teyla supplied.

"That was my first guess," I agreed with her.

"Doctor Beckett is performing an autopsy," Elizabeth added in. The side door opened as Carson himself came barreling into the room, looking at us eagerly. "Oh, here he is now," Elizabeth, said in astonishment at his quick timing probably. Something didn't add up here, too many things didn't make sense for me.

"I'm not done—not nearly, but I thought you might like to know this," Carson said as everyone looked at him with perplexed expressions. "The enzyme sac on the right arm has been removed."

Time stopped for me, I felt lightheaded. Did Carson just say what I thought he just did? I could hear them speaking all around me but I couldn't hear their words, I felt like they were speaking through water. My head started spinning as I pressed my hand to my forehead and took a deep breath. Memories came flooding back to me about the night Ford captured me but I pushed them away, I had dealt with that weeks ago. Ford didn't scare me; it was the enzyme that scared me.

"He could still be there," John said as my hearing finally came back to me.

"Whoa, wait a second," Rodney's voice made me jump; I had been spaced out when he had arrived. "736? The U.V index there during the day is something like a thousand," Rodney said, whining.

"Bring your sunscreen. Be ready in ten minutes," John said firmly to Rodney as he brushed passed him. Rodney pulls a face at the prospect of going to this planet.

"What?" He exclaims, seeing all of our disapproving looks, "I want to get Ford back just as much as everyone else, but do you see my complexion?" Female Rodney said.

"Yes," Teyla said sarcastically.

"Yes, it's very fair," he defended as Teyla left. "Extremely fair," he says as Lorne gives him a blank look and walks out. His gaze turned to Elizabeth he raised her eyebrows at him. "This isn't fair," he grumbled as he left. I went to follow.

"Major," Elizabeth called out to me. I stopped and turned. "Are you going to be ok on this mission?" She asked me. I was touched that she was thinking about me.

"I'll be fine, ma'am. I want to get him back," I said with a nod. Elizabeth studied my face for a few seconds.

"Ok," she said, nodded to me as I spun on my heel and hurried after my team.

We were gearing up in the armory; I zipped up my jacket and clipped on my p-90. John was next to me doing the same. Lorne had already gone up to the Jumper bay, Rodney and Teyla were over in the other corner talking to each other.

"Caldwell told me to kill Ford if we can't bring him back willingly," John said quietly to me as I froze. My hand shook as I clipped on my sidearm.

"What did you say to him?" I asked John. I met his hazel gaze.

"I didn't…but he has a point," he said remorsefully. I pressed my lips into a firm line. "We don't know how far gone he is, he did try to kill you Mia."

"It's all the enzyme," I hissed at him.

"That maybe so, but there may be nothing left of Ford to save anymore. He's been out there for nearly two months, living off the enzyme, who knows what effect that will have had on him. We may never be able to get him off it."

"So killing him is the only option?" I growled

"No, it's the last resort," he retorted. I shook my head.

"The John I know would never think like that, he'd do anything to save his friends," I said finally as I stormed out of the armory.

* * *

We arrived to the dark planet as John set down the Jumper by the gate. The rest of Lorne's team was waiting for us here as they joined us inside the jumper. John brought up the HUD but it frizzed out after a few seconds and shut down. I stood next to Teyla as John walked passed us.

"Life signs detector's useless," John told us.

"I told you so," Rodney said matter-of-factly.

"Just preserving your streak of being right officially?" John said sarcastically.

"Doctor Parrish believes that the indigenous plant life retains enough residual radioactivity absorbed during the daylight to, um, to screw up our sensors," Rodney explained.

"Making it the perfect place to hide," John said pointedly to Rodney.

"Yes—or the prefect place to be exposed to dangerously high levels of solar radiation!" Rodney yells after John as we all walk out of the jumper.

"Any activity while we were gone?" Lorne asked his men, changing the subject off of Rodney.

"No, sir," Reed replied.

"Start a sweep—teams of two," John said. "Radio contact every twenty minutes." Then for some reason a pleasant smell fills my nostrils as a few of us turn to face Rodney. I shake my head at the scientist; he's smearing his face with some type of moisturizer that smelt like it was made of flowers. "How come it smells like I'm on vacation?" John said in amusement.

"Could it be the simulated tropical aroma of cocoa butter?" Rodney said proudly, holding up his container.

"Strong enough for anyone within five miles to smell you," John snapped at him.

"Hope you're not allergic to bees," I said with a grin as Rodney glared at me.

"Like they haven't been tipped off by the Aqua Velva."

"It's dark," John stated.

"Yeah and the sun will be up in two hours, forty three minutes and…ten seconds!" Rodney said, looking at his watch.

"It's raining!" John exclaimed to him.

"So we'll be cold and miserable," Rodney said in distaste. "Look the cloud cover will depreciate a small percentage of U.V rays, but ninety-five percent of deadly is still deadly."

"Doctor Parrish said a day or two of exposure wasn't going to kill us," Lorne added in as Rodney rolled his eyes at him.

"Oh yes, and Doctor Parrish has a PhD in what? Right—botany!" Rodney said condescendingly. I laughed at Rodney's antics.

"Teyla, you're with me," John called out. I tried to not let it bug me that I wasn't with him. I understood that we had fought in Atlantis but I at least thought we'd go together. "Coughlin, take Billick. Sumner: you, Sherman and Reed cover the gate; and Major, you've got McKay." John said with a cheeky grin as Lorne sighed heavily and grumbled.

I walked to John, "Sir," I call out as he turns. "Why are you sticking me on the gate?" I hissed to him. I didn't know whether John was doing it to protect me from Ford or if he was pissed off at me.

"If Ford tries to escape, you're the best defense that we have to either talk to him or stop him. I'll be in radio contact," he dismissed me as he and Teyla walked off into the forest. I ground my teeth together; I hated not being out there. Teyla had taught me to track ages ago on my birthday and I had picked it up quickly. I really just wanted to go off on my own in the forest and find him myself, but I knew that was stupid. And I didn't want to cause another argument between us; so I shut my mouth and watched him and Teyla walk off into the darkness.

I wondered over to Reed and Sherman who were both standing by the DHD. Reed was older, around thirty something and Sherman was around my age.

"Eager to get some payback, Sumner?" Reed said to me with a grin. I forced a laugh.

"You bet."

"You think he's out here?" Sherman asked. I shrugged.

"No idea, but whoever is out there, they aren't stupid," I muttered, scanning the tree line.

* * *

It was around an hour later when my radio buzzed. " _Colonel Sheppard, it's Major Lorne. In pursuit of suspect!"_

" _What? So are we? Where are you?"_ I hear John reply, breathless.

" _We're two clicks south of the Stargate. Where are you?"_ Lorne asked him. I bit my bottom lip; this was it. We've found him. There was silence for a few seconds. " _Colonel Sheppard?"_ Lorne asked once more.

" _Stand by, Teyla's been hit,"_ John hissed into the radio as my breath hitched in my throat. I gripped my p-90 tightly. This was what had happened all over again, was Ford attacking them? What was happening?

" _Colonel Sheppard, say again. What's your position?"_ Lorne called through the radio. I glanced over at Sherman and Reed, they both looked concerned and on high alert. " _Colonel Sheppard, please respond."_ I rubbed my forehead. Fuck. John was out, whoever had shot Teyla and gotten him too. I hit my radio.

"Colonel, come in please," I said into the radio. There was no response again.

" _Major, what do you want us to do?"_ Lorne asked me over the radio. I sighed.

"Get back to the Jumper, stat. We'll regroup and think of something," I said to Lorne.

" _Understood, on our way."_

I clicked off my radio; I bit my lip. I knew I was bound to get in trouble for this…I turned to Reed and Sherman.

"Dial Atlantis, tell them what's going on," I ordered as they nodded. Sherman looked at me for a little while longer. I headed into the jumper and stocked up on extra ammo.

"Ma'am?" Sherman asked. I gave him a tight-lipped nod.

"I'm going after them, once Lorne get's back have him get reinforcements here." He looked like he wanted to argue with me, but he knew that nothing he would say would stop me from going after Teyla and John.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded as I took off at a jog into the forest.

It was still dark and raining as I jogged deep into the forest, I followed the glow stick path to where the dead Wraith body had been as that was where John and Teyla had gone first hand. Hopefully my tracking skills were basic enough that I could follow their trail and track them down. I glanced up towards the sky, it had started to turn an orange colour from the sun rising. At least I'd be able to see more clearly in around half an hour. I reached the spot where the glow sticks were marked. They had long run out of chemical but the plastic sticks were still here. I was thankful it had actually been raining as it had made the mud squishier so the footprints were easier to see now.

I looked around, and spotted two sets of footprints heading west into the forest, I followed. It was easy to follow John and Teyla's footprints through the forest, it was when the trees started to get more dense and the undergrowth grew larger that it was harder for me to spot the path they had gone. I followed the broken branches and path that their bodies had made through the shrubbery as I felt the heat starting to seep through the overhead trees. My shirt had started to stick to my skin as I powerwalked, I wiped my forehead a number of times but the sweat always returned.

I came to a small clearing as I looked down and saw the footprints moving around in one spot, they had stopped and were looking around for something. As I walked a litter further I saw the mud had been kicked up a little and the prints were a lot deeper in the mud. They had started running. I followed again for about another fifteen minutes when I came out to a different area out of the forest. All around me the area was littered with smaller trees and it was much more open around here. I followed the prints until I saw a lot of the ground overturned; I knelt down feeling the ground. With the size of the mark, if I had to guess, this would've been where Teyla had been hit. I looked around the area and thankfully I couldn't see any blood, so hopefully they had only been stunned. Was it Wraith? But why would they take the bodies, wouldn't they just feed and get it over and done with? I looked over my shoulder and saw another part of soil that was overturned. That one was a lot larger; it must have been where John had gone down. Again I checked for blood but didn't see any. I then saw footprints coming from the right, these ones were larger then John's and heavier into the soil. The footprints went over to where Teyla had been as I followed them, then they sunk into the ground, he was carrying her. I looked ahead where they led off and saw that they also returned, he had come back for John. Hopefully they were both still alive.

* * *

I headed off after these new footprints, they were hard to follow, it seemed that he would back track sometimes and then walk along fallen logs to try and throw off the trail. I would find it again a little further away and the walk would begin again. I was hoping that they wouldn't have gone far seeing as he had to carry two people. And then it had me a little worried, this person was strong enough to lug John over his shoulder and carry him while obscuring his tracks. I wasn't sure if this was Ford we were dealing with, maybe it was someone else entirely.

I jumped when I heard p-90 fire nearby as I raised my own gun and headed towards the sound. I heard another sound that sounded almost like a Wraith stunner but different, not surprisingly the footsteps also went this way. There was a small arch like entrance that I could see led down somewhere. I aimed my p-90 as I walked slowly towards the arch, ready for anything to jump out at me.

I felt something wrap around my foot as suddenly I was throw upside down and suspended in the air, in my surprise I had accidently pulled my trigger as a reflex as it went off, echoing around me as I screamed and dropped the gun. I was hanging upside down, my foot in some sort of lasso as I wriggled around.

"Goddamn it!" I hissed, trying to reach up and undo the rope. It was no use, I sighed and went limp on the rope. It was digging into my ankle painfully. It was then I remembered that I had my knife strapped to my back; I wanted to slap myself for forgetting. I quickly pulled it out and made quick work of cutting the rope. What I didn't think of was how painful the fall was going to be, I held out my hands to brace myself as I landed awkwardly, half on my head and rolling onto my side. I heard someone approaching towards me as I reached for the p-90 but a boot came down on it as I looked up. A man stood before me who was definitely not Ford. He was dirty, with dreadlocked hair and wore a leather ensemble; he was also incredibly tall and buff. He glared down at me with a scowl. I didn't know who this man was, but all I knew was that he had John and Teyla. With a cry I tried to bring the knife down to impale his foot but his boot kicked it away. I went to reach for my sidearm when I saw him pull out his own gun quickly and point it at my head.

"Don't," he said gruffly. I dropped the pistol on the ground as I slowly got up onto my feet. He watched me with intense brown eyes as he motioned with his gun for me to walk through the archway and down into the clearing. I walked ahead of him, but I could feel his gaze burning a hole in the back of my head and one wrong move and his finger would pull the trigger.

I saw a large cave opening and a grassy area with one of the packs strewn across the ground. I also saw John and Teyla kneeling down with their hands tied behind their backs. John looked astounded to see me and Teyla didn't look that surprised, but she did look concerned for my safety.

"Kneel," the man ordered, pointing to John as I walked over to him, who had narrowed his eyes at me.

"What are you doing?" he hissed at me as I turned and knelt on my knees.

"I came to rescue you," I said to him, rolling my eyes.

"Good job," he muttered sarcastically. I chuckled at him. "How did you find us anyway?" John asked.

"Teyla taught me to track on my birthday, and your footprints were easy to follow," I said with a pointed look to him. John looked at me with awe as he smirked. He then turned his attention to the man who held us captive.

"Look, you want to go through the gate, go. Give me my radio, I'll order my men not to stop you," John tried to reason with the caveman.

"You can tell them in person. I'm taking you with me," he replied.

"You know, there's a chance that we could help you," John said hesitantly.

"How?"

"We know a pretty good doctor—maybe he could take that tracking device out of you," John explained as I frowned.

"Tracking device?" I blurted out. John looked over at me.

"The Wraith hunt him," he told me as I looked back at the man. He seemed to always have a permanent scowl on his face but it deepened when the Wraith were mentioned.

"So you killed that lone Wraith." I stated sadly. Now that we knew who had killed the Wraith, it wasn't Ford after all.

"No," the man said. "Your sick friend did."

"Ford?" I exclaimed. "Ford's here?" I looked to John and Teyla. John looked away nervously as I turned my head to look at the man; he had been scowling at me but then glanced at John.

"You think I haven't tried taking this thing out?" He snapped.

"Suit yourself," John shrugged. The man was silent for a few seconds, he looked like he was pondering John's offer. No idea why as the man had us all held at gunpoint.

"Why would you do that?" He asked suspiciously.

"Because I'm a nice guy," John sighed. "Look, I told you. You hate the Wraith, we hate the Wraith—it's something we all have in common. We just want our friend back," John said to him as I looked over at him. Now he wanted to get Ford back?

"You get this tracking device out of me—I'll get your friend back for you," he bargained, as John looked pleasantly surprised.

"Ok, good. It's a deal."

The man let John go; before he left John gave me a long look as he ran out of the clearing. Teyla and I shared a look as I moved over to her; I looked over at the man. "You have a name? Or should I just call you Hulk?" I said with a smirk. Both Teyla and the man gave me blank looks as I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"Ronon," he grumbled.

"Mia," I replied back, holding out my hand for him to shake it. He stared at it as I sighed and dropped it. "Never mind then." Ronon went and sat down at the mouth of the cave as I walked up to it. His intense eyes followed my every move as I peered in. "Is this your home?" I asked, looking down at him. He continued to give me an emotionless expression. "Love what you've done with the place," I said grinning at him as Teyla moved behind me. Ronon's gun trailed on her as she held her hands up and sat down next to him. "That trap that I got caught in, did you make that?" I asked him as I went and sat on the grassy ground in front of the two. I heard Ronon grunt. I'll take that as a yes. "Cool," I sighed. I guess this guy wasn't much of a talker.

* * *

"This is not necessary, you know," Teyla said to Ronon, pointing at his gun. Ronon looks at his gun, then at Teyla and I as he slowly lowers it down. "How long have you been on the run?" She asked him. I looked over at Ronon and I furrowed my brow; on the run? Who was this guy?

"Seven years," Ronon replied.

"And you have been on your own all that time?" Teyla asked sadly.

"Not much choice," He grumbled out. I was confused, I had obviously missed the explanation but I was sort of piecing it all together.

"Afraid of bringing the Wraith down on anyone you were with?"

"Can't go home. Can't stay in one place for too long," Ronon explained. I felt sorry for him. From what I had gathered the Wraith seemed to be hunting Ronon, and he'd been running from them for seven years, I don't know how he's done it. Teyla was silent for a minute before she sighed.

"Why do you think they do it?"

"Don't know. Sports, training, learn how we fight, measure our will to survive. You said you heard stories, about other like me?" Ronon asked Teyla.

"Yes I have heard of Runners my whole life, but I've never met one. I did not believe it was true," Teyla admitted with a gentle smile to Ronon.

"One time I accidently came across a planet with a village near the ring."

"What happened?" Teyla asked.

"I stayed—one night—ate a real meal for a change. Left right away the next day. Didn't matter. I later heard; the whole village…" He trailed off quietly as I looked away. How guilty he must feel about what happened, I don't know what I'd do if that ever happened to me.

" _Teyla, Mia this is Sheppard, come in?"_ John's voice came over the radio that was sitting near Ronon as he picks it up and hands it over to Teyla. She smiles at him in thanks.

"Go ahead, Colonel," she says.

" _You both ok?"_

"Yes, we are fine," she replied back to him.

" _I'm here with Doctor Beckett. He's coming in,"_ John informed us.

"Unarmed," Ronon said firmly.

"Ronon would like me to remind you that Doctor Beckett remain unarmed," she said to him.

" _Understood,"_ John said as the connection went dead.

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this one! So we have Ronon now, and let me tell you, it all get's interesting from here on. There's a lot of drama and a smidge of heartbreak but it'll all be revealed. Thank you everyone and I'll see you next week.**

 **REPLIES**

 **mc arno** \- Thanks to google translate once again I am able to piece together what you said! Thank you so much I really appreciate you taking time to review. It brings a smile to my face knowing that I have a variety of different readers. I'm glad you're enjoying the story and Mia and John's relationship. The Arcturus project is a good one that I have written and I can;'t wait to release it!

 **Adela** \- ahahah yeah I know, but what can you do...

 **Guest 64** \- Aw thank you! I do love this episode and I was so happy that I got to write Mia into it, I'm glad I lived up to your expectations!


	36. Emergence - Chapter 36

**Hey guys! This one's out a little early today as I was free the whole day, it's been bliss having some days off! So now we are diving headfirst into the season now and there is also some medical facts in this chapter that I have included. I am in no way a doctor or nurse or psychologist but I have done my research on specific topics so bear with me if anything is off! I hope you all enjoy, this chapter is literally full of angst and drama...my favourite!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

Carson had arrived; he carried in his large medical case and two other bags under his arms as he waddled into the clearing. Ronon sat down on the large rock nearby, all the while keeping his gun trailed on Teyla and I. Though I did wonder where John was and why he hadn't come with Carson.

"My god!" Carson exclaimed, bringing my attention back to them. "Tell me you didn't try to cut this thing out yourself?" He said in outrage.

"Yeah, I tried once with a mirror. Couldn't quite reach. Most of it's from two different doctor's." I moved around to his back, I saw Ronon eyeing me but I moved slowly and pulled a disgusted face at seeing the raised scars on his back.

"No one I know who calls himself a doctor would do this," Carson spat out. He went into his case and pulled out an Ancient device as he started to scan Ronon's back. For some reason I had the urge to look up as I scanned the area above the archway. My gaze settled on a figure in the bushes as I saw John with a rifle, he looked away from the scope quickly to meet my gaze as I looked back down at Ronon.

"Son, you're gonna have to put that weapon down and lie down," Carson recommended.

"Not a chance," Ronon snapped.

"Now you listen to me," Carson said irritated, "I've located the transmitter. It's in the soft tissue next to the second thoracic vertebrae."

"Good, cut it out," Ronon said simply.

"I cannae do that with you sitting up like this, and I'm gonna have to give you some anesthetic to make you sleep," he explained.

"No you're not."

"Excuse me?" Carson said, offended.

"Ronon you need to trust us," Teyla tried reasoning with him.

"I do," Ronon said, waving his gun at her. "Which is why he is here and you two are still alive. Now get to work, Doc," he said, meaning Teyla and I. I really just wanted to knock him out myself and get it over and done with. Carson was seething for a few seconds before he turned to me.

"Mia, help me get set up," he asked as I nodded to him and began opening up his cases.

* * *

"I'm quite certain I've disabled the device," Carson informed John, Teyla and myself after he had removed the tracking transmitter from Ronon. The hulky man was now passed out on the floor as Carson came to stand next to us.

"It may be too late," Teyla, said sullenly. Suggesting that the Wraith may be on their way already.

"We know at least one Wraith tracked Ronon here. I'm going go look for Ford and McKay," John said.

"I'm coming with you," I said to him. He couldn't argue with it standing in front of Teyla and Carson. John looked from me to Teyla.

"We will be fine," she reassured him.

"Now that the lion's passed out cold," Carson joked.

"I'm going to pick you up in the Jumper as soon as—" John was cut off when we all heard gunfire nearby. John and I sprung into action, taking off in the direction of the gunfire, darting into the trees.

We both ran side by side, not knowing where we were going but hoping it was the right direction. I could hear John panting heavily beside me as I jumped over a fallen tree as my feet hit the ground hard as I winced but continued on.

" _Colonel Sheppard, we've got gate activity. Three Wraith darts just came through,"_ I recognized Lorne's voice as I groaned loudly.

"Great," John muttered breathlessly.

We ran for a little while longer. " _Colonel, Ronon is gone. There was another way out of the cave,"_ Teyla informs us through the radio.

"Get back to the Jumper!" John ordered.

I didn't know how long we ran for, but we stopped when we heard more gunfire to the left of us.

"This way!" I yelled to John as he followed my lead as I sprinted into the trees once more. The sound we just heard was p-90 fire, it had to be Ford. All of our men were at the gate and Rodney wouldn't have a p-90, only a handgun. It made me run faster, I knew I was leaving John behind with my speed.

"Mia!" John called out to me but I paid him no attention. I had to get to Ford, I needed to see him, to talk to him. He had to know that I hadn't given up on him; I still loved him, even after everything that happened.

I could hear fighting sounds ahead of me, I didn't even stop to look at the scene in front of me as I burst out of the trees. All I saw was Ronon standing a few feet away from Ford as they stared each other down. I felt like time froze for a second as I finally got to see him for the first time since he left. He looked terrible, his skin was raw and peeling, he was sweating. His left eye was still dark and scarred underneath and he was shaking with anticipation. His fierce gaze was directed at Ronon but moved over to me when he saw me charging for him. I saw a flicker of emotion, but it was gone within a split second as I ran into him. I put all my force behind me as I slammed into him, taking us down to the ground. It only lasted for a few seconds before he threw me off him. I had forgotten how strong he was with the enzyme in his system, and I had actually gone flying a few feet as I hit something. I was winded from the tree that I had slammed my back into as John burst out through the trees. Ford had been reaching for his Wraith stunner on the ground.

"Lieutenant! Don't!" John yelled, aiming at him. I saw John's gaze flicker to me as he looked at me worriedly but something caught all of our attention. Wraith darts flew overhead as I watched them pass by. "Ford!" John yelled. I looked back down to see Ford sprint out of the clearing, John ran after him as I pushed myself up onto my feet sluggishly and chase after them both.

I spot John standing at the edge of the forest. "We want to help," he called out as I saw Ford standing in the cover of a tree as a dart flies overhead. I stand beside John.

"Aiden please! We want you to come home," I said to him as Ford's frowning gaze went from John to me. I see his hand inching towards his pistol on his leg as I jump when John fires off a shot that hits him in the thigh. Ford barely flinches as he takes his pistol and aims it at us. John pushes me behind him, shielding me as Ford frowns deeply. John takes aim at Ford again; I knew this was it; he was going to shoot him.

"You're not getting off this planet!" John yells to him. I grip onto John's arm tightly, begging him silently not to shoot him. I knew I could get through to him if I just tried; John just needed to let me. Another Dart flies nearby as Ford turns his head to look at the beam gliding across the floor.

"I'll show you. You'll see!" Ford cried. Before he had even taken a step I knew what he was going to do, I had to stop him.

"No!" I screamed, pushing John out of my way. Ford pays me no mind as he sprints towards the beam as I feel John's hand yank me back into him as I fall into his chest as his arms lock around my stomach. I watched Ford run into the Wraith beam, he was gone again. I stare up into the sky, tears in my eyes as I watch the darts fly off back towards the gate. John's arms are still wrapped around me as I push his hands away and step away from him.

"Mia…there was nothing—"

"I could've stopped him, if you let me," I said angrily as John went emotionless instantly.

"You couldn't have gotten through to him," he said. I frowned and balled up my fists.

"Well, we'll never know now will we?" I snapped as I rubbed my back and marched off towards the gate by myself.

* * *

We returned to Atlantis with Ronon in tow, John had convinced him to come back with us for a while and show him the city. Now that he was free from the Wraith it seemed that Ronon didn't really know what to do with himself. When we had gotten back Ronon had asked that we contact his homeworld, Sateda. He said it had been attacked by the Wraith and for their safety he hadn't returned yet, but now he wanted to.

Marine's marched Ronon off to a guest room as the rest of us went up to the conference room to brief Weir and Caldwell on what went down on the planet. Caldwell and Elizabeth were waiting for us patiently as John, Teyla, Rodney and myself filed into the room. Rodney was still wearing his stupid hazmat suit, which brought a smirk to my face. John debriefed Caldwell and Elizabeth on the mission.

"After they scooped up Ford, the darts made a beeline for the gate. We tried to stop them, but…" John finished as I heard Caldwell sigh in annoyance.

"You had him in your sights, and you let him get away."

"I shot him once, it didn't slow him down," John argued with him.

"I shot him too," Rodney said, raising his hand and looking proud of himself.

"He ran into the beam," John emphasized.

"Are you saying he wanted to be taken?" Elizabeth asked.

"I think he saw it was the only way off the planet," John told her.

"Well, I can tell you from the quality time I spent with Ford, he was definitely no thinking straight," Rodney revealed to us.

"Now thanks to you, he's in enemy hands with information that could compromise all of us," Caldwell said in resentment.

"I don't think he'll give us away," John tried to reason as Caldwell rolled his eyes as he was walking out of the room.

"Oh, thank you so much for your assurance, Colonel. I'll be sure to include your _feelings_ in my report," Caldwell says sarcastically as he leaves the room. John is seething next to me as I cross my arms.

"Can I shoot him yet?" I snapped bitterly as Elizabeth gave me a stern look.

* * *

A few hours later I was heading to the gym. Earlier we had dialed Ronon's home planet to try and make relations but to our horror his whole planet had been culled by the Wraith. The structures were either falling down or blown to pieces and the scanners showed that there wasn't one living soul there. Ronon had been informed and now he was holed up in his room by himself.

I arrived at the gym as I tossed my towel onto the windowsill and stretched out. I cracked my knuckles as I threw out a few combos into the space. I heard the door open behind me.

"Thought I'd find you here," John said as I glanced over my shoulder at him. I was still pissed off at him, he shouldn't have held me back on the planet, I could've reached Ford and forced him to stay, if I had just had another second I know I could've.

"I come here everyday, not really a shocker," I said harshly as I turned to face him. He was also dressed in workout gear. He noticed my tone of voice as he went and tossed his own towel on the sill.

"Want to spar?" He asked with a smirk. I nodded my head once as John stretched out his arms and legs. He hopped around like a little bunny, telling me that he was ready as I brought up my hands in defense. John lunged for me as I dodged and threw a punch to his cheek; he blocked it as I tried to go for his other cheek. He moved his body back as he tried to kick me but I blocked it with my leg and I didn't see his arm coming at me as I felt a sharp pain to my stomach as I doubled over, grasping my stomach. John faltered for a second as I used that to my advantage as I grappled with him. I tried to knee him in the stomach but he blocked and then I felt his leg move behind mine and before I knew it my legs were swept out from underneath me and we both went crashing to the floor. John had pinned my hands above my head and sat on my thighs so that I couldn't kick him off me. "What's wrong with you? I've never been able to beat you," John said, concerned as I frowned at the window to my right.

"You're getting better," I mumbled as I felt his grip slacken on my wrists.

"Bullshit, Mia. What's going on with you?" He asked, pulling me up to standing. I moved out of his grip.

"Nothing," I said, walking to my towel. I've had enough sparring for one day.

"It's about Ford, isn't it," John stated, it wasn't a question. I picked up my towel and tossed it over my shoulder, I glared out of the window.

"You should've let me speak to him," I muttered quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"There was no reasoning with him, Mia," John said. I spun around, furious.

"You didn't give me the chance to!" I yelled. John's face went stony, just like he had done on the planet. "I know I can get through to him, all you had to do was let me try, instead you keep trying to protect me! I don't need protection, John, I just need my friend back."

"He was aiming his gun at us!"

"He's not thinking straight!" I gripped my hair in frustration, "All he needs is to know that we all still care about him."

"Did you forget about what he did to you?" John said angrily. I scoffed.

"Of course not, but none of that matters except getting him the help he needs!" John sighed as he rubbed his face.

"He doesn't want our help, Mia."

"I don't care," I said firmly. "I'm going to be the one to bring him back here, and then everything will go back to how it was," I said as I gave him one last long look and stormed out of the room.

* * *

John never thought that he himself would be standing outside of this room. He had never been in here as he's never needed to see her before, but now he had a reason to. There was something wrong with Mia, she's been acting not like herself since the incident with Ford and he wasn't talking about the one on the planet. Ever since Ford had assaulted her, she had claimed she was over it but deep down John knew that there was something more there, something she wasn't telling anyone.

John waved his hand over the sensor as the door opened and he stepped into the room. Heightmeyer was sitting at her desk at the end of the room as she looked up when he entered.

"Colonel," she said in surprise.

"Hi, Doc," John greeted her with a wave as she stood from her desk and walked around it.

"Are you ok?" She asked with concern as John nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I was wondering if you had some time to, uh, talk?" John said nervously. He's never spoken to a therapist before in his life so he was a little concerned about how this was about to turn out.

"Of course," Kate said, motioning for him to sit down on the chair. "What's on your mind?" She asked, taking a seat in her own chair.

"It's about Major Sumner," John said, sitting down.

"Mia? Is she alright?" Kate asked with concern. John drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair.

"Yeah, physically she's fine. I'm more worried about the mental side of her," John said as Kate frowned.

"What's been going on?" Kate asked. John rubbed his face.

"I uh—I've just noticed that she hasn't been acting entirely like herself since Ford's attack."

"It's to be expected, something like this is sometimes very hard to grasp on. Aiden Ford was Mia's family, and for someone in her family to leave her broken and bruised has probably shaken her trust in people," Kate explained.

"It's not that," John said. "I mean, there is something not right with her. And I think I'm the only one that's seeing it because…" John had to stop himself from saying 'because I love her'.

"Because you feel a responsibility for her," Kate finished for him, John didn't agree or disagree.

"What?"

Kate sighed, "It's very common to see these types of relationships forming. I'm guessing, that when Colonel Sumner passed away the burden of making sure that his daughter was taken care of passed to you."

"Yeah but I don't think of her like my kid or anything," John had to clarify, as that was just too disturbing to think about.

"No of course not, but you obviously feel the need to protect and look out for her," Kate explained. Which surprisingly made sense to him. Kate chuckled, "I'm sorry, you came here about Mia and I shifted it to you. Please, Colonel, tell me about Mia," Kate asked as John scratched his neck.

"You obviously heard about our altercation with Lieutenant Ford on P3M-736?"

"Yes, it went around the base quite quickly. How was Mia seeing him for the first time?"

"Strange," John said, which caused Kate to raise her eyebrows.

"How so?" She asked.

"Mia seems to think that she's the one who's going to bring Ford back. She got so riled up before when I told her that there may not be a Aiden Ford anymore, she almost bit my head off," John said.

"Were Mia and Aiden together?" Kate asked. John felt like snapping at Kate but he couldn't.

"Not that I know of, just friends."

"Tell me more," Kate pressed on.

"On the planet, when she knew that she was going to see Ford, she changed into a completely different person, she didn't take any orders and fought with him head on. And when he aimed his gun and tried to shoot us she was still adamant that she could get through to him, it's like she's not seeing whom he's turned into. Just before she was screaming at me because I held her back from running into the beam that swept Ford up," John rubbed his forehead. "Could there be something that she's hiding from us? I know she's told all of us that she's fine but I don't think she is."

Kate thought for at least a minute, her brow was furrowed deeply as John was trying to see if he could figure out what she was thinking. Kate sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"I must apologize, Colonel. I should've seen this coming," Kate mumbled.

"Seen what?" John asked quickly.

"Normally I would get Major Sumner in here to speak with me personally but with her temperament and uncanny ability to lie it wouldn't do any good. From what I can gather she's going through a form of Survivors guilt or PTSD," Kate explained as John sat quietly.

"Survivors guilt?"

"You may have heard of it. It's extremely common in cases were one person has died and another feels guilt that they survived or couldn't do anything to save the other."

"But Ford didn't die," John frowned.

"No, but he did leave. And from what I'm hearing Mia is feeling responsible for not being able to keep him here in Atlantis before he left. And now again on the planet, she wasn't able to bring him home and she is feeling the guilt. Do you know if she went to visit Aiden's relatives while she was on Earth?"

"She did," John muttered, finally putting all the pieces together.

"Seeing them may have triggered it. And when she met Aiden on the planet all that was going through her head was that she needed to bring him home to make everything better, then she wouldn't have to feel guilty about not being able to save him."

"You're making a lot of sense," John scoffed. He rubbed his face, "What do we do?" John asked. Kate got out her notepad.

"I'll talk to Carson, but in the meantime I don't think she's a danger to herself or anyone around her. Keep an eye on her and if she begins to show signs of fatigue, loss of appetite, or you feel as if she should come and speak to me again let me know, and I'll take it from there."

"Sure thing, Doc," John said, standing from the chair.

"Colonel," Kate called out as John turned. "Thank you for coming to see me about Mia."

"No problem," John said with a nod as he left the room.

* * *

It was three days later when we got to go on another mission, and during those three days, I don't know what had happened, but John and I had seemed to have distanced ourselves from each other. I hadn't gone to see him during the night and he hadn't come to see me, it was like we were ignoring each other, and I felt like I was to blame. I had flipped out on him in the gym about Ford, I was stupid, taking it out on him like that, he was just trying to keep me safe and here I am, making assumptions and treating him like he's the bad guy.

I laced up my boot as I sighed and flopped back onto my bed, I stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, wondering how today was going to go. We were heading off to a planet we had visited last year, but word had gotten around that they had recently been culled by the Wraith so we were going to check up on them and offer them any resources and help if they wanted it. We were taking two teams, ours and Major Lorne's, Carson was also coming along and then a few extra officers, just for a precaution. I tilted my head to look at my bedside clock, it was ten to eight, and we'd be leaving in ten minutes. I groaned and pushed myself up into sitting as I rubbed my face and quickly tied my hair up and out of my face. I didn't want to admit it to myself but I was shit nervous about seeing John. I knew I couldn't put it off any longer so I got off my bed and zipped up my jacket as I headed out of my room and to the armory.

I geared up and was one of the last ones here; I clipped on the p-90 and knife as I followed Lorne's team out of the armory and to the gate room. When I stepped up the ramp I scanned the area and spotted John standing with Teyla by the stairs. Rodney came jogging down the stairs as he joined them as he spoke rapidly to them. I sucked in a giant breath and walked over to them. Teyla spotted me first and she smiled sweetly at me like she always did.

"Good morning," she greeted me as I nodded back to her.

"Morning," I replied. I glanced over at John and caught him staring but quickly averted his gaze as I sighed but then turned back to Teyla. "So your off-world contacts were the ones who said we should check out the planet?" I asked her.

"Yes," she nodded. "They informed me that they have not heard from them in some time, and when a few went to investigate the Wraith were present on the planet, they have not returned since."

"Alright, let's head out," John said as he signaled up to the technician as the gate began dialing.

* * *

We emerged onto the planet as I surveyed to surroundings. The area around the gate was charred and I could see smoke rising up from different parts of the forest. I knew the village was a few clicks north of the gate and I felt my stomach drop when I saw two large plumes of smoke rising into the air from that direction.

"Cadman, you take Beckett and McKay," John said to Cadman who was a new Lieutenant that had joined us from the Daedalus. She was around the same age as me, I'd spoken to her a few times and each time she asked me to join her and some other woman in a poker night but I always declined, reasons because I normally spent my free time in the gym or with John. Cadman nodded to John. "Teyla you take Lorne and Reed; Coughlin and Fisher you take the gate; Sumner and Hansen you're with me," John ordered as I tried not to let my anxiety show through my face at the prospect of having to go with John. I know that nothing could happen while we were here as Hansen was going to be with us but I didn't want to young Sergeant to pick up on anything.

We split up as John, Hansen and I headed off in the direction of one of the villages, Teyla and her team were taking the other and Rodney's was checking out some farmers that lived isolated from everyone. Hansen walked about three meters in front of John and I as we both walked together. I was shuffling my feet through the foliage and I could feel the tenseness flowing off of John.

"So are we going to talk about it?" I whispered quietly to him. John looked over at me, then glanced at Hansen who made no indication that he had heard us then looked back at me.

"What are you talking about?" John played dumb as I scoffed.

"I'm not an idiot, John. I know there's something wrong here, we haven't seen or spoken to each other in three days," I hissed to him as I saw his jaw tense. "It's about Ford, isn't it," I stated, echoing his words he had said to me three days ago in the gym. John didn't say anything. "Can you talk to me? Please," I begged him quietly. John frowned over at me.

"Aren't you the one who said that we should keep our personal and mission life separate," he ground out through his clenched teeth as I faltered for a second.

"Yes, but not when it affects both," I said to him, I pulled on his arm to make him slow down a little bit more. Hansen was still oblivious up ahead. John stopped and faced me.

"Fine, you want to talk, then lets talk," he growled. "I got mad at you because you don't seem to understand the fact that I don't want to see you get hurt like you did before. You have no idea what was going through my head when Ford took you."

"Then tell me!" I hissed at him, stepping closer to him.

"I never does any good, Mia," he snapped, stepping away from me, which hurt. "Because every time I try and tell you that Ford may not be able to be saved it rolls off your shoulder. What is it going to take to make you see that? Whatever friend you saw in Ford is gone now, I thought seeing him on the planet would've made you see that but I guess I was wrong," John said harshly. "And I am not going to see you get killed because of your own stupidity and naivety," he finished as he turned on his heel and marched after Hansen; leaving me standing there with my mouth dropped open.

* * *

 **So I hope you all enjoyed the drama and angst, I know I did xD Also I just want to address the subject of PTSD and the survivors guilt, I didn't just bring this up out of the blue to create a new story line, I actually implemented this and incorporated in way back at the end of season 1 and also at the reunion with Ford's family. I always intended to bring this up as it is a very serious mental condition. I personally have never suffered from this but I have tried to keep it in check and I did do thorough research before writing about it. I was very hesitant to put this in the story as depression and PTSD is a very sensitive subject but in the end I did as for someone in Mia's position to be taken hostage and beaten up by the person she calls family would have drastic effects, so in order to make the story more realistic I did include it. I hope you all do see the purpose of it in the story and that you can understand where it is coming from.**

 **Thank you to everyone who is reviewing and alerting and just reading this story, as always it makes me happy knowing that I am making people happy with my work!**

 **REPLIES**

 **teekee hut** \- ohmygod I literally re-read that chapter and was so embarrassed at how many I had put in there! I guess after rewatching the episode and reading transcripts that's just how I imagined it but from now on I will be looking at all of those and making sure I'm not that repetitive again! Thank you for pointing that out though!

 **Claudi70** \- Your English is perfect! Thank you so much and yes I've been waiting to have Ronon come into the series. He doesn't have much story time at the moment but he will!

 **Adela** \- Her trying to talk to Ronon will always be my favourite thing in the world.

 **Guest** \- Thank you!

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you! Yep I'm so happy that Ronon is finally here, one of the best character's in any tv series!

 **mc arno** \- Yep everything is about to go downhill with Mia and Ronon and Ford. Their confrontation was so sad because all she wanted to do was help him. And we'll see what happens with Ronon in the next few chapters, it all come to a head in the next 2 I'm pretty sure. Thank you so much! :)

 **Thank you everyone and i'll see you next week!**


	37. Emergence - Chapter 37

**Hi guys! So sorry for the delay I've having issue's with my internet the past couple of days and it's finally running smoothly again. Thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback you left about the previous chapter! I was honestly so nervous but you guys made it all better! Enjoy this one guys, and just so you know next chapter is when everything really starts to get interesting!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence  
**

* * *

"Alright, I'm about ready to call this one. Doesn't look like there are any survivors," John said after we had checked out the village to see it completely destroyed and barren, there wasn't a soul alive anymore.

" _The culling's are getting more intense,"_ Teyla said into the radio.

"Well, you said it yourself; too many Wraith woke up at the same time. Too many mouths to feed—or…hands to feed," John replied back to her.

" _Well, we're heading back to the gate, meet you there?"_ Lorne said into the radio.

"Sounds like a plan," John said from behind me. "McKay, Beckett; you having any luck?" John asked them.

" _Negative, Colonel, we haven't found anyone,"_ Carson's Scottish lilt came through next.

"Make your way back to the gate," John ordered.

" _Will do. Beckett out."_

I kicked a nearby branch that was in my way as it went sailing through the air, John and I hadn't spoken since our argument a few hours ago, and it was now awkward, and I think Hansen realized something was up between us but he didn't say anything, but even the Sergeant was quiet on this trip back. I glanced over my shoulder, pretending to look at the foliage around me but I found my eyes wondering over to John who was examining his life signs detector. As if he could sense my stare he lifted his gaze as I quickly turned back around, looking ahead of me.

" _We have an incoming dart,"_ I heard a female's voice that I knew to be Cadman as I stopped and turned to face John. He looked equally as stunned as myself as John activated his radio.

"If it's seen us, it will blow Atlantis' cover. Anyone get a clear shot, you take it, understand?" John said as the three of us began running towards the gate. We weren't far; out of the three groups ours was the closest to the gate. John ran ahead of me while Hansen was panting next to me as we came out of the trees and I could see the gate in the distance.

The Stargate activated as John ran up the stairs, aiming his machine gun and scanning the skies. I went to one of the Marines standing at the gate and held out my hands for his machine gun as he passed it to me as I hurried over to the stairs and stood off to the side and aimed up. I heard an explosion off in the distance.

" _It is heading towards the gate. We damaged it but it is still on its way,"_ Teyla yelled through the radio.

" _Wait!"_ Carson said breathless and panicked into the radio _, "McKay and Cadman have been beamed aboard that dart!"_ I turned to face John. He looked torn but I knew what decision he had to make.

"We can't risk the dart making it back to the hive ship," John said. The next sound I heard was the buzzing of the dart, I turned back, gripping the machine gun tightly as I opened fired onto it. All I could hear was the loud gunfire of the two machine guns as I had the dart in my sights and I continued to fire on it. It was heading straight for us but after the rain of bullets something behind it exploded as it veered off course and began to nosedive to the ground to the East. Mud and dirt go flying up into the air as the dart crash lands just over a ridge nearby.

"Rodney," I whisper in worry as John looks over his shoulder at me as we both run towards the wreckage.

We follow the burning trail of dart to the cockpit. I can see Carson holding his hand up and it looked like he was speaking to the Wraith. Before I could get a shot off John had fired on the Wraith, it had been reaching for the self-destruct button. John walks closer, I was following close behind. John fires off another round into the Wraith to make sure that he was completely dead.

"What the hell do ya think you're doin'?" Carson yelled angrily at John.

"It was reaching for the self-destruct," John argued with him as we both came up to the cockpit. The control panel was frizzing out, sparks flying.

"He's the only one that can get Cadman and McKay out!" Carson yells.

"I seriously doubt he'd oblige," John snapped back.

"Well, we'll never know now, will we?" Carson muttered bitterly as I hear running footsteps as I look over my shoulder. Teyla is running over to us with the rest of her team.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked, breathless.

"If you count Rodney and Cadman stuck in the Wraith dart ok, then yes," I muttered.

"We're fine," John reassured her. "Hansen, radio Atlantis. We want Zelenka here ASAP. We've got a problem," John ordered the Sergeant as he hurried off back to the Stargate. "Sumner," John calling my name made me jump slightly, I turned to face him. "See what you can do," he ordered as I nodded and walked up to the cockpit.

"Uh…can you get him out of here," I pointed to the dead Wraith as Lorne and Reed came over and picked him out, dumping him in the forest.

I hopped into the cockpit, sitting in the seat as Carson came over to me.

"You have any idea how to work this thing, love?" He asked with concern over Cadman and Rodney.

"No idea, but it can't be too hard, can it?" I said, faking optimism as Carson gave me a weak smile as I looked at the controls. I scanned over the controls, jumping when some sparked. Lights all over the console were blinking at me and then suddenly it all died.

"Dammit," I grumbled.

"What?" John had magically appeared next to me.

"All the powers gone from the Dart, I can't access anything," I said, rubbing my forehead and smacking the console in my fury.

"Mia!" Carson yelled, making me jump out of the dart and running around to the back. Carson was pointing at something sticking out of the dart. In the attack some of the dart had broken off and in this case the cockpit had been severed from the rest of the dart. What I was looking at was the same gross organic material that we found inside a hive. And something else was sticking out of it; it looked like some type of triangular glass chamber. I could see a faint blue light inside it as I crouched down near it. "What do you think it is?" Carson asked me.

"A power source maybe?" I mumbled. "I'll know more once Zelenka gets here with the equipment," I said to Carson with a smile.

"Do you think Rodney and Cadman are still alive in there?" Carson asked worriedly as I sighed.

"I honestly have no idea, Carson," I said truthfully to him as he looked away from me.

* * *

An hour later Zelenka had arrived with his escort. About a dozen Marine's had come through the gate with machine guns and equipment that I would need to help get Rodney and Cadman out of there, if they were still alive.

"Zelenka!" I called out to him as he looked nervously around him as he reached me with two bags under his arms.

"Hello, what's Rodney done this time?" Zelenka asked as he set down the bags, he seemed to be looking around for someone, I assumed Rodney and then I realized that no one had told him what had happened, they must have just told him to grab everything and get here.

"He's stuck in the Wraith Dart transporter beam, along with Lieutenant Cadman," I told him, jerking my thumb over my shoulder to the dart. Zelenka looked over my shoulder.

"Oh," he said, I saw his face pale as he cleared his throat. "Well, we'd best get started then."

Zelenka got out all of the gear as we both went about hooking it up to the dart. After almost half an hour I joined him at the computer that we had set up.

"What am I looking at?" I asked him.

"This device here," Zelenka pointed to the glass chamber that I had seen before, "seems to be the dematerializer interface, it has it's own power source which is why it's the only thing left on."

"I checked the systems with my tablet, it's all fried, even if this thing has it's own power source there's no way for us to rematerialize them," I told him. Zelenka nodded.

"Yes, but thankfully the device has it's own buffer system. Before the dart completely died it transferred the remaining power cells into it, ensuring the survival of the occupants in the interface."

"But why?"

"Probably so that if the Wraith found their crashed dart they'd still get their feed," Zelenka said with disgust.

"Charming," I muttered, pulling a face. "How can we get them out without the controls?"

"I've been working on a subroutine to link it to my computer, making the interface think that the computer is the dart's control systems."

"Cool," I said with a grin. Zelenka looked bashful.

"Uh, thank you. I just need a little more time and then we should be ready to try and get them out of there," he said. I nodded.

"I'll leave you to it, if you need anything just yell," I said to him as he nodded and went back to his work. I walked around the dart as I looked around, trying to find John. I saw all of the security team around the perimeter and then spotted Lorne, I headed over to him.

"Hey," I said as I reached him, he looked over his shoulder at me. "Have you seen Colonel Sheppard? I need to talk to him about the dart," I said to him. Lorne pointed over to the Stargate.

"He was heading back to dial Atlantis and brief Doctor Weir on everything so far," Lorne said.

"Oh, good," I said, smiling, "I can tell them both then." This was all fake when in reality I had nothing new to tell John, all I wanted to do was talk to him. "Thanks, Lorne," I said as I jogged over the ridge. I spotted John almost at the gate; I could see a few security officers there as well as I grimaced. How was I supposed to get him alone? I was thinking hard, as I got closer to the gate. John was speaking with the two Marines as I finally thought of something as I reached him.

"Colonel!" I called out. My voice was hurried and John had heard that, he turned quickly, looking at me with worry.

"Major," he replied, meeting me on the stairs. I caught my breath.

"I um—I need to retrace the path the dart took to make sure no parts were lost in the descent, I thought I'd come tell you before I headed out," I explained to him. He frowned slightly, knowing that some Marine's had already done this before, it was another second before his eyebrows rose in understanding of what I wanted that he turned to the Marines.

"Dial Atlantis, let Doctor Weir know that we should be heading back soon. I'm heading out with Major Sumner." The two Marine's nodded in understanding as one of them began dialing. John motioned for me to take the lead as he followed me into the forest.

* * *

We didn't have to walk very far before I stopped, the forest here was dense and all the Marines, Zelenka and Carson were in the opposite direction. I turned and faced John who stood a few feet away from me, he placed his hands on his hips and I folded my arms.

"I'm sorry," I said. I feel like I was always apologizing to him, I kept on messing everything up between us. And with what had just happened with Rodney and Cadman, it could've been John and I stuck in there. I didn't want us to be fighting over every single thing.

"Mia," John said my name.

"No, just let me speak," I told him firmly. He nodded and waited. "What I said to you was so mean; I don't know what came over me. It's like whenever Ford's concerned I just…"

"I get it," John said as he stepped closer to me. I could see that he did truly understand, which was a change from how he normally was. "Ford is…your family, you've known him since you guys were kids; I'm just looking out for you, Mia. When I think back to what happened, it very easily could've been you in Ford's position. I just want you to start trusting me when I say that we'll get him back together, you don't have to do this all alone." I was silent as I pondered over John's monologue. I didn't realize that he felt this way; I guess in my head I was always thinking that I had to shoulder this burden alone, that Ford was my responsibility. As I met his gaze, I could see a question burning in his hazel eyes, but he didn't make a move to ask me. Instead I reached out for him and pulled him to me. I latched my arms around his waist, gripping onto his shirt as I felt his arms encircle me as he held me tightly.

"I can't loose anyone else, John. I don't know what I'll do if Teyla or Rodney or you—"

"You aren't going to loose us, I'm not going anywhere." He said firmly as I nuzzled my face into his chest. I felt him press a tender kiss to the top of my head as his hands rubbed up and down my back soothingly. "You aren't alone, Mia; please remember that. I'm here for you." I shut my eyes as I listened to the steady beating of his heart. I could feel some weight lifting off my shoulders. I needed to realize that John was here to stay; he wasn't going to leave me. I was still annoyed about him not letting me even try and talk to him, but I had to accept it and move on; John was trying to protect me, even though I hated being protected and I could handle myself, maybe letting John help a little more would be worthwhile.

"We should head back now," John said to me after a few more minutes.

"Yeah, we really should be figuring out how to save Rodney," I said with a chuckle. I felt a little bad; here John and I were, embracing in the forest talking about our issues when Rodney and Cadman were stuck in the Wraith dart. I pulled away from John, our fingers interlacing with each other, I sighed as I turned and started to walk towards the crash site when John pulled me back.

"Hey," he said, catching my hand again. "For what it's worth, I want to help you get Ford back. No matter what everyone says," he said as I felt a grin spread over my face. I threw my arms around his neck as I planted a kiss on his lips. It had been so long since I had kissed him, I felt the warmth spread through me as he hands ran up and down my back. I pulled away as I felt his cool breath ghost over my face.

"I love you," I told him, "please don't ever forget that," I kissed him again, more tenderly. John brushed my fringe out of my face and behind my ear.

"I love you," he said to me.

* * *

"Colonel!" Zelenka called out to John when we arrived back to the crash site. I could see Carson crouching next to Zelenka, as he was looking at the computer that he had set up and probably trying to make sense of everything. As John and I approached the dart the interface machine sparks, causing Zelenka to jump up in terror, looking around and clutching Carson. John looks slightly amused but concerned.

"First time off-world?" He asks the Czech scientist.

"Yes," Zelenka says nervously. I'm holding in my smirk at his apparent discomfort about being here.

"Well, if there were any more Wraith, they would have attacked us by now," John said, trying to reassure him.

"Really?" Zelenka said with relief.

"If it makes you feel better," John said, causing Zelenka's smile to drop slightly. "Did you find what we want?" He changed the subject quickly.

"Uh, well yes," Zelenka said, crouching down to the computer again as I came around and bent down to examine the computer also. "But it's very complex. This interface controls the machine that dematerializes people, stored their information and then rematerializes them again when commanded to."

"Great," John said, pointing at the dart, "command it to!"

"Uh, I can't," Zelenka told him.

"From what we can tell, the materializer is storing two life signs," Beckett said. And I suddenly felt really bad that I had been off fixing my problems with John when I should've been here helping Zelenka with this.

"Which is good," John said positively.

"Yes but there is only enough power in the Dart's energy cell to successfully rematerialize one of them," I see on the screen that Zelenka is now showing John that there are two small dots representing Rodney and Cadman. "Power to the rematerializer has been completely severed and emergency back up power is completely run down," Zelenka explained to John. He looked confused though; I knew strong science like this wasn't exactly his forte sometimes.

"Ok," John said, trying to follow along.

"You have to decide which one we're going to beam out," Zelenka told him as I grimaced.

"That's a terrible choice to have to make," Carson added, crossing his arms and biting his lip in worry.

"It's easy. Beam out McKay—he'll figure out how to get Cadman free," John, said oblivious. I smacked my forehead in frustration.

"No, no, no, sorry I was unclear," Zelenka apologized and motioning to the laptop once more.

"There's no way to tell who is who," I said to John as he looked over at me, and then back at Zelenka.

"They just read as life signs."

"Perfect," John exclaimed, "all right, that one," he said, pointing at the left life sign. "Stand aside!" John called out to everyone near the dart as we moved away from where the beam would come out. Zelenka pressed a button on his computer as we heard the whirling sound of the beam as Rodney appeared in a bright white light. He stares ahead blankly as John steps closer to him. "Rodney, you ok?" John asks.

Rodney drops to the floor unconscious. Carson and I are the first to reach him as I turn him over onto his back and Carson goes for his pulse.

"His pulse is stable but I need to get him back to Atlantis," Carson informs us, looking worried.

"Teyla, Lorne, help the Doc head back to the city with McKay. We're going to stay here with Zelenka—try to bring as much of the dart back as possible," John orders as I stand as Teyla takes my spot.

We got back to Atlantis a few hours after Carson had taken Rodney back. The dart had been spread out in the gate room, as it was too large to fit anywhere else in the city. Zelenka and I had managed to hook up some of our computers to the Wraith console and had tried juicing it up. We didn't get power back to the interface machine, but we did manage to download all of the Wraith data into a non networked computer, we had to take precautions because of what had happened on the Daedalus, we didn't know if it was booby trapped. Zelenka then sent me off into Rodney's lab on the third floor to start going over all the Wraith data as he was going to concentrate on reverse engineering a transformer which had accidently blown during Rodney's release. I was pretty ecstatic to be able to learn about Wraith technology, we had never been able to figure out anything about them except their biology from all of the ones we have killed. Now we actually had a dart in out possession. I felt like a kid in the candy store.

* * *

"How's it coming?" I looked up from my computer to see John walk into Rodney's lab. I felt my heart flutter at seeing him walk in with that lazy smile on his face. He strolled in and came up to the desk, hopping up and leaning around to look at the computer screen.

"It's amazing," I said in awe. John met my gaze. "I've been wanting to learn about Wraith technology for so long now, and now that I have it, I can't stop reading," I said with a chuckle.

"Tell me about it then," John pressed as he hopped off the table and stood behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders as I shivered and tilted my head back to look at him.

"I can't concentrate when you do that," I said to him. John grinned slyly.

"Do what?" He asked innocently as I rolled my eyes.

"Do you want to hear about this or not?" I said playfully as he bent his head and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. John moved back around so that he was leaning against the table, facing me.

"I'm all ears," he said as I gave him a blank look. He chuckled as felt the excitement come over me from learning about the Wraith.

"Ok, well we've been speculating for some time now that the Wraith evolved after the Ancients came here."

"Yes I know that," John said. I grinned.

"Well, I think I just found proof about it." John's eyebrows rose.

"How?"

"The Wraith use Neural Interface to control their darts, exactly how the Ancients used theirs. It's as if they copied them somehow to try and beat them. And we know that the Wraith didn't come before as the Ancients were the first civilization to come to the Pegasus and there haven't been any more records of any Wraith like creatures anywhere else in the universe. And that's not the best part," I told John. He was listening intently. "It's organic."

"What?"

"Well more organic based really," I scratched my head, still trying to wrap my own head around it.

"Your saying that, that thing out there is alive?"

"Not really," I frowned. "According to all of this data, some of the exterior components of the Wraith structures are grown, like a tree or whatever and then they add in all the technology later, but the Wraith are far less advanced then we originally thought."

"How so?" He asked.

"They don't have shield capabilities, their weapons systems are basic at most and from what we've seen their hyperdrive isn't state of the art. It's like they built something just to get it in the air to try and get rid of the Ancients."

"And the Wraith only won the war because of their numbers."

"Exactly, if there had been a lot more Ancients back then, the Wraith would've been wiped out. They're a lot more fragile then we think. I mean, some of these organic materials I've never even heard of, but the disgusting thing is that I've found traces of DNA in it, which is why I think that everything is grown, even hive ships."

"Wait wait wait wait," John said hastily, pulling a disgusted face. "Did you just say DNA is in their ships?"

"Disgusting, I know. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how they can 'grow' ships but that's what I've found."

The door to the lab opened suddenly, causing me to tense up. John wasn't exactly close to me but it was close enough to look suspicious to some people. And it caused even greater tension when Elizabeth walked in, looking at the both of us.

"We have a problem," she said.

* * *

"Stop laughing," Rodney ground out through gritted teeth as I held onto my sides; I was laughing so hard tears were coming to the corner of my eyes. John was next to me and was holding in his smirk as I continued to laugh. "This isn't funny! This is a serious matter!" Rodney yelled at me. I finally controlled myself as I calmed down and wiped my eyes.

"Rodney you have to hear how ridiculous this sounds!" I exclaimed to him.

"It's not ridiculous, it's the truth," he grumbled.

"So you're saying," John said hesitantly, "that Lieutenant Cadman is stuck inside your head right now," John stated, looking at Carson for some relief but the Doctor shrugged.

"Yes," Rodney nodded.

"How?" John asked.

"I don't know! Obviously some malfunction with the beaming device! Look where is Radek, I want to know everything," Rodney began spinning in a circle and I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing once more, Rodney turned and shot me a dark glare and I bit my bottom lip hard.

Zelenka appeared with a tray as Rodney walked over to him and took out some broken parts of the transformer.

"Oh, nice work," he muttered sarcastically.

"We were running out of power. I hardly knew anything about the machine. Who would've thought this could be one of the side affects?" Zelenka explained.

"So instead of waiting to understand what it was that you were doing, you just sort of mashed on the keyboard hoping something would happen!"

"Well, you're alive, aren't you?" Zelenka says grumpily.

"He doesn't know how to fix it!" Rodney shouts suddenly, causing the four of us standing together to give each other concerned looks.

"What?" Zelenka asks Rodney. Rodney pointed to his head.

"Talking to her," he snapped.

"You can hear her thoughts?" Elizabeth asked from beside me.

"No, not her thoughts, thank God. I can hear when she's speaking…or trying to speak."

Elizabeth leans over me to whisper to Carson, "Are you sure he should've been discharged from the infirmary?"

"According to the M.R.I, he's as healthy as he ever was," Carson explained.

"Well we can't all be track stars now, can we?" Rodney yells out, and then turns to all of us once more, "it was her again."

"Maybe there's something wrong an M.R.I wouldn't pick up, if you know what I mean," John whispered to Carson and I had to bite down on my lip once more to stop myself from laughing, Carson was doing the same.

"I'm not crazy—I just have another consciousness in my brain," Rodney hissed with crazy eyes.

"So he just looks crazy," John muttered to all of us.

"I'm sure I do," Rodney said in irritation. Then he gestured over to Zelenka, "but only because Doctor Fumbles McStupid over here was in way over his head!" He yelled as Zelenka rolled his eyes at Rodney.

"Yes, yes, I made a mistake trying to save _your_ life. Now, do you want to try and fix it, or do you want to continue to berate me some more?"

"I'm perfectly capable of doing both at the same time. Now, I assume you've tried to run one of our own generators on it?"

"It's not as simple as that," Zelenka told Rodney. "The trick is having it interface with the Wraith machine in real time. The power fluctuations are, are huge. If we overshoot it just a little, we've screwed up." I glance at Rodney, he seems to be concentrating really hard on listening to Zelenka but he also looked like he was distracted by something.

"Yeah, yeah. Um, I'm sure if we can maybe run an interface program that will take care of all the…" He trailed over, rolling his hand. I glanced over at John and he too was staring at Rodney in concern. Rodney was still looking very weird. "Uh, here's what I want us to try…we'll take a, uh, naquadah generator…and um…and uh… _yes! What?"_ Rodney shouts furiously at the end. I jump in shock from his sudden outburst. "Well stop asking stupid questions!" Rodney hisses to himself.

"Rodney," Carson says with concern.

"I will get you out of here, ok? Now just be a good little girlie and keep quiet," Rodney snaps obviously to Cadman, who was…inside his head…that was still hard to understand. "And do you have a degree in physics, hmm?" Rodney says condescendingly, "Well, what about Mechanical Engineering, huh?"

"Rodney?" Elizabeth calls calmly.

"Yes!" He yells at Elizabeth, but then realizes that he had just snapped at her as he composed himself. "Sorry. I'm sorry. What, please?" He stammers out.

"Why don't we let Zelenka handle this?" Elizabeth tells him.

"I'm fine," Rodney pressed.

"No, you're not," John told him.

"And I'd like you to talk to Doctor Heightmeyer."

"I think I'd be more useful if I was to—"

"Rodney," Elizabeth interrupts him, "I'm not asking you." Rodney glances around the gate room, seeing the entire personnel gaze on him as he turns back to Elizabeth with a sour expression.

"Fine," he mutters as he storms off with a pout.

* * *

John made me fill in Elizabeth, Zelenka and Carson on what I had figured out. It turned out that they were all very surprised and impressed with what I had been figuring out with the dart. And then Zelenka asked me to begin helping him with the reverse engineering of the transformer. It took the rest of the day, and when it was around dinnertime Zelenka said that he would be ok for the rest of the night and let me go and do my own thing. He said I had done a lot today for him, what I really wanted to do was go to my room and study over all the darts information again but I decided to get changed and head out for the gym. I wore my sports bra and sweatpants and piled my hair up on top of my head. Flinging my towel over my shoulder I headed down to the gym.

I waved my hand over the sensor as I arrived. I heard noises from inside as the doors opened and I saw John, Ronon and three Marines sparring. I jumped in shock when all three of them hit the mats as I glanced at Ronon. _Jesus Christ_ , I thought. Ronon's piercing gaze went to me as I looked behind him to John, he was smirking.

"Let's try that again," he said. One of the soldiers who was holding his stomach in pain groaned and glared over at John.

"How about you try that again, sir," he muttered as John's smirk grew.

"Maybe that's enough for today then," he dismissed them. John realized I was standing here as his smirk turned into a smile as he walked over to me. The soldiers were picking themselves up off the floor as Ronon was stretching over in the corner.

"He's like a male version of you," John hissed with delight as I gave him a blank look.

"I doubt even I'd be able to take him, look at him, he's like Conan on steroids!" I hissed back at him as I walked further into the room. John followed me as I heard the three Marines leave the room. I threw my towel down onto the floor and faced John. "Do you want to spar, we haven't done it in so long?" I asked him as I quickly looked over at Ronon, he was waiting for John seeing as his guards weren't here. John looked disappointed.

"I can't, I'm taking Ronon to the firing range," he said. I frowned.

"Why? He obviously doesn't need to practice," I stated, motioning over to the Hulk. John fidgeted nervously.

"Uh, just showing him around. Tomorrow?" John said. I continued to scowl at him, was he hiding something from me?

"Fine, tomorrow, four o'clock, don't be late," I told him with my pointed finger as he held his hands up.

"I'm always on time," he said with a grin as I rolled my eyes. He and Ronon left the gym as I practiced my combo's on the punching bag.

* * *

 **I know they kind of resolved it a lot quicker then some people thought that would, but it really just comes down to how Mia feels, she doesn't understand what's happening to her, she's just having some crazy mood swings and get's a little bit too out of control when faced with Ford. I know that when i get mad about someone nothing can literally stop me from saying stupid shit or doing stupid shit until i've calmed down. For Mia she realized how stupid she had been when Rodney was stuck in the dart, but even so John hasn't told her what he knows in fear that she'll snap at him again...i'd be scared of her too if I was John!**

 **Thank you everyone for your wonderful support for last chapter!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **teekee** **hut** \- sorry this is coming out a day late, curse my internet sometimes! Yeah well this is just a tiny fraction of the ship drama, there is more to come. It's kind of implied in this chapter but it should come full head in the next one I think? Maybe the one after, but anyone they'll be a lot more drama coming. I'm glad you liked the John POV, I was a bit worried that people might not like it but I will be using it a few more times in this season and just get feedback from readers if they like it or not. I've had my fair share of depression and denial, so I guess I can sort of relate to her. I was in that stage where I knew I was depressed but I couldn't admit it to myself or anyone else as I didn't want to be "labelled" as having a mental illness; but things have worked out and I guess some of Mia's depression is based on my own experience. More will be shown next chapter though, she isn't fully over John and Ford yet. Yum, make up sex hahaha

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you! I'm glad you approve of the storyline I took, I was honestly so nervous but not anymore! I pretty much used my own experience to shape Mia's character so that I could get a more realistic feeling to her. sorry that this is a day late though!

 **MageVicky** \- Thank you! Ah her and Ronon...we'll have to see about their relationship in the next few chapters! Thanks for reviewing!

 **mc arno** \- Thank you! Yeah nearly everyone is excited that Ronon is finally in the picture, I know I am! He's so much fun to write and interact with the other characters. I'm sorry this is a day late but I hope you enjoyed!


	38. Emergence - Chapter 38

**Hi guys! So, this chapter is where all the drama begins! You may love me or hate me but I would love to read about your reactions and maybe some other theories you have for the story? Thank you to everyone who's been reading, reviewing and alerting! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

At three thirty the next day I headed to the gym to warm up for John's and mine sparring session. I dressed in the same clothes as yesterday and tied my hair back from my face and walked to the gym. I got there and opened the door as I walked into the room. I got to the middle of the room when something caught my eye as I jumped and turned. Ronon was sitting on the bench with his security detail in the other corner. He was staring at me as I cleared my throat.

"You scared me," I stated, throwing my towel down onto the ground. I noticed that the sparring mats were still out from the previous day. I looked back to Ronon. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. Ronon's expression didn't change.

"Waiting," he grumbled. I nodded.

"For…?" I questioned him.

"Someone to spar with," he said as I bit my bottom lip. I glanced down at my watch on my wrist, then back at Ronon.

"I'm supposed to be meeting Colonel Sheppard at four, but I have twenty minutes to kill. I'll spar with you," I offered with a shrug, as Ronon's expression still didn't change as he stood and walked over to me. Standing this close to me, I suddenly felt like this was a bad idea. He was extremely tall and buff, I don't think I'd last five minutes with him.

"Sheppard says your good," he said shortly. I felt my eyebrows rise.

"He did, did he?" I said with a chuckle. "I guess we'll see then," I said as I headed for the baton sticks, I chucked two to Ronon as he threw one to the floor. I pressed my lips into a firm line as I took two for myself and twirled them around. "It's hard for me to find challengers around here, so give it your best shot Hulk," I said with a smirk. To my shock I saw his mouth twitch, like he was going to smile or smirk, but it was gone in an instant. I took my defensive position on the mat as I raised them up. It did make me nervous that he was only using one baton, but maybe he was just being cocky…

* * *

He was definitely _not_ being cocky.

I could barely keep up with him, I was panting and sweating as I quickly dodged another one of his swings, I went in for a hit but he blocked it as I came spinning around behind him. I hit him on his shoulder as he turned and went to hit me near my face but I managed to block with both sticks. I saw his knee coming up as I sidestepped out of the way, I lunged for him again, and he blocked all my hits as I came swinging for his head. He dodged out of the way and then I felt a sharp pain to my shoulder as I hissed and stepped back as we circled. My back was to the gym door as I heard it open up.

"I thought we were supposed to be sparring today?" I heard John say from behind me. I kept my eyes on Ronon.

"I got here early, so Ronon and I—" I had turned to look over my shoulder at John. I heard Ronon move and then I felt my baton sticks go flying out of my hands as suddenly I was gripped tightly around the throat and slammed into the mat below me. In that split second I had horrible flashbacks of Ford's attack, of being strangled to near death and the beating he had given me. My breath left me as my back slammed into the mat as I could hear my own screams ringing in my ears from my memory and Ford screaming at me.

I panicked, I could see John reaching for his knife and coming towards us to protect me as I shot out with my free arm, socking Ronon dead in the face. His grip slacked as I used my legs to kick him away from me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" John growled as he crouched down to me. I was breathing harshly, holding my throat as I looked at Ronon in fear. The man was holding his mouth; I could see blood trailing down from a split lip as his gaze rose as he met mine. I could feel my throat tightening, remembering how it felt after Ford had attacked me, I couldn't get the images out of my head, they just kept coming, and I could feel my control slipping. John's hands helped me stand as I moved behind him.

"I wouldn't have hurt her," Ronon said as I glared at him

"Well it didn't fucking look like it," I spat. Ronon didn't say anything. I could still hear my screams ringing in my ears as I flinched, John saw this and I saw the concern on his face. I glared up at Ronon again. "Don't you ever come near me again," I said with malice as I turned and ran out of the room.

* * *

I was sat in the mess hall around an hour later; my hair was still wet from the long shower I had taken as I could feel it soaking into my shirt. I used my fork and pushed around my peas on the plate as I stared at it hard. I sighed heavily as I dropped the fork and crossed my arms over my chest. I was thinking about what had happened with Ronon in the gym. I thought I was past this phase, the fear of it happening again. I felt weak, just like I felt after Kolya's attack also. Every time I shut my eyes all I could see was the malicious gaze of Ford as he strangled the life out of me. The way he had thrown me around and dragged me through the base was haunting my memories. I rubbed my forehead as I slumped down further in my chair and glanced out the door at the back of the room. It was dark outside and there weren't many people in here anymore, only one or two eating a late dinner. I knew I should probably go and see Heightmeyer over this but I didn't want to, I didn't want to admit that I was still having nightmares about Ford, that sometimes my mind would go back to that time when he was dragging me through Atlantis and I could feel the pain and fear that I experienced like it was happening all over again.

"Hey, Sumner."

I looked up, surprised to see Nathan Fields standing there, looking down at me. I forced a weak smile.

"Hi," I said to him. He pointed to the chair opposite me.

"Do you mind if I sit?" He asked as I shook my head.

"No, go ahead," I said, motioning for him to take a seat. "You know, you don't have to call me Sumner every time, you can call me Mia," I said to him as I saw him look away bashfully. When he looked back at me, with his dark eyes I could see the feelings he had for me in them. I could tell that he wanted to have some sort of relationship with me; it was like he was crushing on me like a schoolboy. He ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair.

"You know, I've been meaning to come and see you to offer my condolences about Lieutenant Ford. It can't be easy, loosing someone that close to you," he said sincerely as I forced another smile. "You guys were really close, weren't you?" He asked. On the inside I was wondering where this was going but on the outside I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, we were—still are hopefully," I said to him. Nathan nodded. Suddenly he shot out with his hand as he grasped mine in his as I felt his thumb run over the back of my hand. I was frozen as I continued to stare at his hand holding mine.

"I want you to know, if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here," he said to me as I finally managed to look him in the eye. Feeling him holding my hand wasn't anything like it was with John, with John I my skin always felt like it was tingling with him, with Nathan, it felt like a warm hand.

"Th-thanks," I stuttered out. I saw Nathan's eyes glance up for a second as his expression changed as he pulled his hand away from mine and stood up straight.

"Colonel," he saluted. I felt my stomach drop to my knees. I didn't even want to turn around, but I did—slowly. "See you around…Mia," I heard Nathan say, but I couldn't even look at him, my gaze was focused on John who had a neutral expression on as he watched Nathan leave. I felt like I had just been caught cheating, when I hadn't even done anything wrong. But at the same time, I hadn't pulled away from Nathan; I had let him hold my hand. John slowly looked at me as I rose from my chair and grabbed my tray.

"He saw how upset I was, and wanted to know if I was ok," I told John as I held the tray between our bodies. Now that Nathan was gone I looked around the mess hall, seeing no one else here with us.

"So you go to Nathan Fields with your problems now?" John muttered with jealousy. I huffed and dumped my tray on the rack.

"No, he came to me, I didn't ask for him to hold my hand, he was being nice," I said to him, facing him again. John had crossed his arms and was looking extremely guarded. "In case you haven't noticed, not many people talk to me anymore after the attack, everyone just avoids me now and I think it's because I've become this guarded and anti-social person or I'm a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Nathan's the first person to actually come up to me and ask me if I'm ok," I explained to him as I saw his expression soften.

"I ask you," John defended. I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

"I know, but I see you everyday, I'm with you all the time. I'm talking about the people I used to speak to; they all avoid me now. Don't get me wrong I appreciate everything you do for me, I really do…but sometimes I need to talk to other people," I said as I saw an understanding look come over his face.

"Just…if he does it again, put him in his place," he said with a pointed finger as I laughed.

"Of course, trust me, it was just as weird for me as it was for you," I said with a grin.

" _Doctor McKay, report to the hangar. Doctor McKay, report to the hangar_ ," I heard Zelenka's voice come over the comms system as John and I shared a look as we both realized that this would be about the transformer system. We headed to the gate room together.

* * *

John and I arrive and stand next to Elizabeth as we watch one of the technician's placing a pair of white mice into a glass container as Rodney arrives and walks over to us.

"We've been running simulations all day," Zelenka said to us. "I think I may finally have something. I was able to get the generator to run on a buffer loop which tricks the dart into taking only the power that it needs without overloading," Zelenka explained.

"Mmm, great. Good thinking," Rodney said. "Can we, just, see it?" Rodney said quickly.

"Anxious?" Elizabeth questions Rodney, looking at him. Rodney looks over at her with his jaw clenched.

"Yes," he said. Zelenka goes to his computer.

"Ok, firing," he says as he presses something on his computer. The beam emerges from the machine as it sweeps up the mice as they disappear from the box. "Alright. Life signs holding steady. Now, rematerialization initiated." The beam reappears as we are all waiting on baited breath for this to work. I grimace as I see the mice are back, but they are burnt to a crisp.

"Now I'm no scientist, but those mice used to be a different colour," John states.

"This is never going to end!" Rodney exclaims in devastation, "I'm going to be stuck like this—forever!" I walk over to Rodney and clamp my hand down on his shoulder.

"Cheer up, Rodney, it could've been me you were stuck with," I said, trying to reassure him as he groaned and held his head in his hands.

Rodney leaves in a mood, holding his head, muttering about how he needed to go and get some sleep as I watched Elizabeth leave to go to her office as John follows her. He says something to her that I don't hear as I walk closer to them, catching Elizabeth's reply.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea, John," she says with a conflicted look. I was about to continue after them when suddenly Zelenka walked in front of me, stopping me and taking my attention.

"Mia, I was wondering if you would help me with some of these calculations?" Zelenka asked. I looked from Zelenka up to John and Elizabeth standing on the catwalk, but I could no longer hear them. I looked back at Zelenka and took the tablet he was holding out for me.

"Sure," I said with a sincere smile.

* * *

"Rodney's been taken into the infirmary," John told me as he walked into my room the next day. I was reading up on all of my Wraith data once more as I dropped it and stared at him with my mouth parted open in shock.

"What? Why?" I asked, jumping up from the bed.

"He had a seizure, Heightmeyer thinks it's because of Cadman being in there. Right now they're prepping Rodney and Cadman for her letting go of control."

"So she's going to die?" I exclaimed.

"I was hoping you'd figured something out yet?" John asked as I started to pace.

"No! I mean, this is some complex science, way beyond me. I mean, I specialize in artillery and—and war machines and tanks but a Wraith beaming device?" I gripped my hair. "I have to go back and help Zelenka, I can't let Cadman commit suicide," I said as I ran passed John and out of my room, heading to the gate room. I ran through the halls, it was early in the afternoon so a lot of people were out and about; I had to weave between Marine's and scientists alike to get to the gate room in one piece.

I arrived as I saw all the familiar scientists still working hard as I looked around the room for Zelenka but I couldn't see him. I walked up to the female German scientist as I tapped her on the shoulder.

"Is Zelenka here?"

"Nein," she said, turning to me, "he's up with Doctor McKay in ze infirmary," she said as I pulled a face.

"Ok, thanks, have we gotten anywhere with the transformer?" I asked her. She handed me the tablet that she had been working on as I went and took a seat on the nearby chair and started to go over their diagnostics.

" _Sumner, you in the gate room?"_ I heard Rodney's voice in my ear as I frowned in confusion; I hit my radio.

"Rodney? I thought you were dying?"

" _I am,"_ He said grumpily. " _Look, I thought of a way to fix this, Zelenka and I are on our way but I need you to start removing the gate's control crystal's,"_ he explained to me as I laughed.

"Rodney you are a genius," I said to him. I knew what he was going to do and I felt stupid by not thinking of it before, and I know Rodney isn't going to let Zelenka hear the end of it, as it is so simple.

" _I know; I'll be there in five."_ The line went dead as I quickly ran up to the control room and headed to the D.H.D. I chucked myself underneath it as I pulled open the console and located the crystals as I pulled them out. Once all of them were out I hurried back down just as Rodney and Zelenka arrived. Rodney looked at the crystals as I looked at his attire

"Nice robe," I commented as he sent me a side smirk. He took the crystals from me and handed me a pair of cords.

"Go hook up this to the transformer," he ordered as I hurried over to the chamber and moved around the back of it as I started pull out the cords and began hooking them up.

* * *

"Alright! Let's do this!" Rodney called about twenty minutes later as I hopped up from sitting next to him, we had just finished another simulation and it says that everything is supposed to go ok.

"Just because it works in simulation doesn't mean—"

"I would prefer not to suffer a fatal seizure while we wait for you to round up more mice for testing. So, shall we?" Rodney said to Zelenka.

"Plus, if it doesn't work, he's going to die anyway," I muttered to the Czech man.

"I heard that," Rodney called out as I grinned.

"I'm sure it'll work," I called loudly as he made a few adjustments to the dematerializer.

"Don't try to talk me out of this—I may very well listen," Rodney said to thin air, he was talking to Cadman. There was a pause as I went and stood next to the taped out area designated for the beaming. "Well, you're welcome. I can honestly say that the entire experience has been very, um…" It looked like he was fumbling with what to say when I heard running footsteps. John, Elizabeth and Carson appeared, all out of breath as they stared at Rodney in worry. "Ah, about time," Rodney said to them.

"Hold on, Rodney—I thought all the mice died?" John asked him, looking panicked.

"Well, what are we—mice or men, hmm?" Rodney said, not very convincingly.

"Are you sure about this?" Elizabeth asked him.

"Absolutely, yes," Rodney said with a nod. Elizabeth looked over at Zelenka and I as I shrugged and Zelenka raised his hand and shrugged. She turned back to Rodney.

"Ok," she said with a nod.

"Just…give me a second," Rodney said as he took in a deep breath and moved back in to the taped area. "Well, Laura, it's been um…unique," Rodney, said to Cadman. He waited a few seconds. "Good luck to us both, right?" He said.

"Alright," Zelenka says, catching my attention as he motions to the four of us standing by the taped line. "It's ready. I suggest you take a step back," Zelenka said as the four of us moved away in sync.

Zelenka raised his finger to press down on the button to initialize the machine when Rodney suddenly puts his finger in the air and places his hand on his hip in a very feminine gesture. He turns on his heel and marches to Carson; he grabs him by the collar of his lab coat and pulls him to meet him in a kiss. My jaw hits the floor, as I am literally speechless. Elizabeth turns away, embarrassed for Rodney probably as John stares over at them in disbelief. Rodney pulls away.

"Just in case this doesn't work," Rodney says as I snigger to myself. The next second Rodney releases Carson and Rodney gasps in horror. "Oh!" Rodney stumbles back, bowing his head, not meeting any of our gazes as he waves at Zelenka. "Just, just hit it," he says. Zelenka hits the button; Rodney is still covering his face in humiliation as the beam sweeps him up.

"Ok—it's reading as two life signs. Power levels are steady—"

"Get them out of there!" John cuts in as Zelenka nods and hits it again. The beam shines again and Rodney and Cadman appear next to each other standing in the positions they were last in. After a second they both hit the floor unconscious. The five of us hurry to them as Carson checks their pulse.

"Let's get them to the infirmary," he orders as he calls in a medical team.

* * *

Elizabeth, Zelenka, John and I were sitting in the infirmary waiting for Rodney and Laura to wake up from their sleep. Laura was the first one to wake, she had grinned at the four of us as Carson came over to her and checked her vitals. Not three minutes later we all saw Rodney moving his head around as he groaned and I saw his eyes lazily open.

"Feeling better?" Laura asks Rodney as he looks to his left, only seeing an empty bed as John and I share a look and smirk.

"Oh no," Rodney groans in disappointment.

"Over here," Laura chimes as Rodney turns and looks at her as she waves at him. Rodney looks relieved that he can see her in her own body and not just hearing her in his head.

"Oh, um…a little less crowded. You?" Rodney mutters.

"Same," Laura says as she stretched out in her bed, "It's nice to have my own body back."

"You are doing superbly well," Carson says to Laura as he finishes checking her vitals.

"Ah, good to hear," Rodney says as Zelenka stands next to him. "Nice work," Rodney says to Zelenka.

"Well, it was your idea," Zelenka says to Rodney.

"Well, of course it was, but you…you were…there," Rodney says as his version of a thank you.

"Lieutenant, way to survive what I think may be my worst nightmare," John says to Laura as she chuckles.

"Thank you, sir."

"Yes, thank you," Rodney says sarcastically to John as John grins at him.

"I imagine you two, might want a moment?" Elizabeth offers them both as Laura and Rodney share a look.

"Actually, ma'am, I think I'd like some time alone," Laura says.

"Same here," Rodney agrees, "It's been a while."

"Alright, release them as soon as you can," Elizabeth says to Carson who nods.

"Aye," he replies. John and Elizabeth turn to walk away as I catch Carson clasping Laura's hand for a split second as I hit John on the arm to get his attention. He looks at what I'm seeing as he smirks down at me as I chuckle and follow him out.

* * *

The next week passed uneventfully as we waited for Rodney to be cleared for active duty once more by Carson. During that time I spent reading up on Wraith technology that we had figured out, and helping Zelenka take apart the dart now that we no longer needed it to keep Cadman alive so that we could study it more and hopefully find out some secrets about their technology and race; maybe a weakness that we didn't know about before.

I stepped out of my shower and wrapped the towel around my body as I walked into my room and headed to my dressers and changed into my uniform. Today we had a mission to some new planet, it was going to be Rodney's first mission back from the whole dart incident that he refrained from talking about now and just wanted to keep it hush, hush. John hadn't stayed the night as he had told me that he needed to sort something out with Ronon, apparently he had decided to stay here with us, but that was all John had given me, he hadn't told me what Ronon was going to be doing here, I doubt the giant was going to be sitting in a room all day for the rest of his life. There was something that I was missing here. I sighed heavily as I brushed out the tangles in my hair and tied it up in a ponytail as I shrugged on my jacket and headed out of my room towards the conference room.

When I got there I could hear voices from inside the room and guessed I was the last person to arrive. I stepped inside the door and stopped dead in my tracks, sitting in one of the seats was someone I least expected to see in this room. I felt my jaw tense as I growled, "What the hell is he doing here?"

All heads turned to look over at me as I turned my glare back on Ronon, who was sitting in one of the chairs. John rose slowly from his chair, staring at me as I looked from him to Elizabeth, who was slightly frowning at John.

"You didn't tell her?" Elizabeth asked him as John looked over at her.

"Tell me what?" I barked out, causing John to look back at me. I glanced at Rodney, who was sitting next to Elizabeth and rubbing his neck sheepishly, Teyla was sitting there, stunned into silence. And then I looked to Ronon once more, who was staring at me with an unreadable expression. And then it all clicked.

" _I'm taking Ronon to the firing range."_

" _Why? He obviously doesn't need it."_

" _Just, uh, showing him around."_

" _I'm not sure this is a good idea, John."_

My gaze went to John once more, he could see from my expression that I had figured it out, Ronon was now on the team, he had taken Ford's spot. I could feel my throat tightening from the hurt, the betrayal and the anger I felt towards both John and Ronon. I couldn't be here, I didn't want to see Ronon, and I didn't want to be around John. This was too much. I looked over at Elizabeth; I could see the sympathy on her face.

"I need to be excused, I'm sorry," I said to her, I saw her head faintly nod as I turned on my heel and walked swiftly from the room. I heard a chair scrape across the floor from back in the room. I hit the stairs as I hurried down them, I could feel a tear roll down my cheek as I hastily wiped it away.

"Major!" I heard John call from above. I stopped and turned, craning my neck up to look at him at the top of the stairs. John looked like he wanted to say something but the look on my face stalled him. When I knew he wasn't going to say anything I took that as my cue to leave as I marched out of the gate room.

I ended up back at my room, I opened up my door and walked in, seeing the unmade bed and the clothes strew around the room, I walked slowly to my bed and sat down on it, sinking into the soft mattress. I held my head in my hands as I took in a deep breath.

How could he do this to me? How could he replace Ford with _him_! He wasn't even apart of our military, he's only been here a few weeks at most and now he was claiming the team as his own. I was furious, but the furious where I knew if I said anything I'd start crying. Was this his way of saying that Ford was never going to come home? That he's given up on him for good? He's still out there and he needs our help.

My door chimed as I lifted my head, I waited for a long time, hoping that whoever was out there would go away. I thought they had left but I heard the chime once more as I stood up and walked over to the door. I waved my hand over the chime as the door slip open to reveal John standing there. As soon as he saw me he spoke.

"Just let me explain," he said, stepping into my room before I could have the doors shut him out. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Well you better hurry up, cause I'm having a hard time understanding this," I ground out as I moved into the middle of the room.

"Look," he said softly, "Ronon can be a great asset to our team," John said. I frowned.

"We don't need another team member, we have one who needs our help."

"I know, and we aren't giving up on him," John said as I scoffed.

"Well it sure as hell looks like it!" I bellowed.

"Mia, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Ronon, I just didn't know how…"

"You had plenty of times to tell me, John. Just admit it, you were glad when Ford left," I snapped at him. John frowned.

"What? Mia no—"

"Don't! You're glad he's gone, everyone's glad that Ford got beamed up into that dart because everyone just assumed that he's dead and he's out of our hair, but he has a family! He's my family and I will not give up until I find him and bring him home!"

"Of course I want him home, Mia."

"Then why replace him with Ronon!" I screamed at him, my voice hoarse as I could feel the tears on my cold cheeks, "You doing that just confirms to me that you think he's not coming back! That I should give up on him, like you've always wanted me to do!"

"No…"

"You don't want him back, because if you did you never would've put Ronon on that team, and if you loved me like you say you do, you would have told me when you first considered it, you would've asked me John! But you didn't!" John looked stunned at my words. But I didn't care, he had gone too far, this was something that was unforgiveable in my eyes.

"Of course I love—"

"Don't even finish that sentence!" I hissed at him, pointing my finger threateningly at him. "If you loved me," I heard my voice quiver; "You _never_ would have done this to me. Now get out," I said darkly. John stepped forwards towards me but I stepped back.

"Mia."

"Get out!" I screeched at him. I saw the pain flash across his face for a split second before it was gone. He continued to stare at me for a few more seconds before he turned and waved his hand over the sensor, letting himself out of my room. Once the doors shut I sunk down to the floor in a pool of my own tears.

* * *

I waited until it was dark to venture out of my room, it was around eight at night and the halls were silent as I walked down them. No one was out of their rooms and I couldn't even hear the waves crashing against the city. I reached the gate room as I looked up at Elizabeth's office and saw her sitting at her desk typing on her computer. I took a deep breath as I ascended the stairs and walked through the control room and across the catwalk. I reached her office as I knocked gently on the glass door. Elizabeth looked up from her computer, surprised to see me.

"Mia…" She said as I entered the room. She motioned for me to take the seat as I sat down.

"I wanted to apologize for today, I didn't meant to walk out. I was just surprised to see Ronon there," I told her as Elizabeth waved her hand.

"I understand. I just can't believe Colonel Sheppard didn't mention that he would be joining your team," Elizabeth said with a frown.

"That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about…" I said, grimacing. Elizabeth seemed more intrigued as she closed her laptop down. She clasped her hands together on top of the laptop. I cleared my throat and folded my hands together neatly in my lap. "I know that Ronon needs a place to stay, and I don't want my reaction today to affect his time here, if I was him and I couldn't go anywhere I'd go mad, so this is why I'm asking you to please reassign me to another team." Elizabeth's jaw dropped. I'm guessing it was the last thing she was expecting to hear come out of my mouth. She looked like she was trying to gather her thoughts.

"If this is because of the accident that you and Ronon had the other week…"

"It's not because of that," I told her, "I got over that a few days after it happened. It's just," I paused for a second, gathering my strength. "I can't be on that team with him, seeing him sit where Ford used to sit, seeing him take his place—"

"Ford's place will never be taken, Mia, you know this don't you?" She tried to reassure me as I nodded.

"I know, but that's what it feels like to me, and I don't want my feelings about Ronon to put the whole team in peril. And with Colonel Sheppard…he betrayed my trust and I don't think I can ever forgive him for this." Elizabeth sat for a full minute without saying anything; I could see that she was thinking hard about this.

"Ok," she said finally. "I'll reassign you to Major Lorne's team, one of his sergeants just got sent back to Earth for personal reasons and is needing another member."

"Immediately, please," I asked her as she nodded. She opened up her laptop and began typing away, making the changes. I bit down on my bottom lip. "Um, there is one other thing," I said hesitantly. Elizabeth glanced over her screen at me. "I think you should make someone else Second in Command. I feel like in my current mind state I can't perform my duties to the extent that I want. Lorne would be better suited for it anyway," I said with a shrug as I could see Elizabeth looking all over my face, hoping I would give something away other then my blank face I was giving her. Maybe she was checking to see if I needed to talk to Heightmeyer again just incase I was going nutso again.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked me. I nodded firmly.

"One hundred percent."

Elizabeth sighed and nodded, "Ok, would you like me to radio Sheppard up here?" She asked me. I shook my head.

"If it's ok with you, I'd like to tell him personally," I watched her face for any indication that she suspected something was up, but all I could see was understanding. I think she thought this was some sort of revenge tactic that I was going to use on him because he didn't tell me about Ronon, make him feel even guiltier then he already did.

"Ok," she said with a nod.

"Thank you, Elizabeth," I said her name to her, "For just…understanding. Not many people do," I said sadly as she tried to smile, it was weak, but I saw it. I think she was more upset about me completely changing everything about me then I was.

* * *

My next stop was John's room, and I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't stop fidgeting with my shirt and my heart was thundering in my ears so hard I could barely hear myself think. I felt like I was taking a trip down memory lane, I hadn't felt this nervous since I was walking to John's room before we were together and I confronted him about my feelings and his actions. Now I was coming here for a different reason. I arrived all to quickly at his door, I could see the faint light from his bedside lamp through the mosaic glass as I took a deep breath and waved my hand over the sensor. I waited a few seconds before I watched the door open. I wanted to run away so, so badly, but I knew I couldn't, I had to face him, to tell him what I needed to say.

He looked stunned to see me here so soon, he had recently come out of the shower as I could smell his body wash and I noticed his damp hair.

"Mia," he breathed out.

"Hi," I replied quietly. I clasped my hands together in front of me. "Can I come in?" I asked him timidly as he stepped aside to let me pass. I walked into the room, my gaze shot around his familiar room, seeing his small bed that we would always cuddle up in together. We had so many happy memories in here; I could feel my heart breaking. I turned around to look at him, and his expression told me that he knew why I was here; he could read it off of my own face. "I um—I wanted to tell you in person," I said to him, I cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the lump that I could feel building up. I wanted to look away from his eyes but I couldn't, they drew me in like always. "I've asked Elizabeth to reassign me to Lorne's team," I told him as I saw him frown.

"Why?" He asked. I wanted to smack him for being so idiotic.

"You know why, John," I said firmly, "I can't…be around Ronon and not think about Ford. It hurts too much to know that people are just moving on with their lives. I get that everyone's only known him a year but I've known him since I was three years old. And to see someone else stand where he should be, it's like he's been replaced and Ford can never be replaced in my eyes and it kills me inside knowing that with Ronon being here, I might never get to see him again," I said, holding back my tears, I didn't want to cry anymore.

"We are never going to give up on him," John said determinedly. I shook my head.

"It doesn't matter, John. You did it anyway, you didn't tell me and now this is the consequence," I said to him. "Lorne's now your new Second in Command as well."

"What? Mia, you can't…"

"I have, John. It's already done, Elizabeth has made the changes," I said with a frown as John tried to walk to me. I took a step back. When he didn't try to come near me again I turned on my heel and walked to the door.

"Mia," John said as I continued to have my back to him. I bit my bottom lip as I waited for the question that I knew was coming. "What about us?" he asked me as I felt a single tear fall. I looked over my shoulder at him.

"There is no us," I replied to him. I saw the devastation on his face as it killed me inside to do this. "This is how it should be. I'm sorry, John."

I waved my hand over the sensor as I walked out of John Sheppard's life.

* * *

 **yep.**

 **So this was a pretty heavy chapter, and a lot happened; I don't blame anyone for wanting to throttle me right now but hey, i'm guessing most of you might've seen this coming from miles away. I'd love to hear about your reactions and what you think will be happening later on in the story!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Well, you guessed correctly, she snapped and it blew up in John's face. Thank you!

 **MageVicky** \- Duet has always been one of my favourite episodes ever, Rodney cracks me up every time! Thank you for your support!

 **Thank you everyone, see you next week.**


	39. Emergence - Chapter 39

**Hi guys! Sorry for it being a little late, completely forgot about what day it is! Thank you everyone for your feedback on last chapter, I loved hearing all of your thoughts about last chapter. Enjoy this one!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

A few days later I was laying in bed staring at the clock beside my bed, it ticked over to five thirty am, normally I would be bouncing out of bed, keen for my morning run, but now all I wanted to do was stay curled up in a ball and eat copious amounts of ice cream. I watched my clock for another three minutes before I rolled over onto my back and felt around my bed, feeling it empty. I then sat up in my bed and looked around my room. It seemed darker then usual in here, like all the light and happiness had been sucked out of it, it's what I felt like at the moment. My hand went to my neck where the small necklace sat at base of my neck. I felt the small gemstone and thought back to my birthday on a few months ago when John had given it to me. It felt so long ago, and a lot had happened since then.

"Get ahold of yourself, Mia," I grumbled to myself, shaking my head. I was stronger then this whiney little girl that had been locked up in her room the past two days over breaking up with her boyfriend. I was Mia Sumner, and I wasn't going to let another man affect my career. With a heavy heart I unclasped my necklace as I got out of bed and placed it down in one of my desk draws. I walked into my bathroom and stared at my reflection.

"You can do this," I said to myself as I stripped and got into the shower.

I had my first mission today with Lorne and his team; I was nervous and excited at the same time for this to happen. For one I hadn't been on any mission's without Teyla and Rodney and John so I was a little apprehensive, but I had to keep telling myself that this was for the best. I was doing this for myself. I finished dressing as I left my jacket in my room, the new planet that we were going to has been recorded as having a very high temperature during the day so I didn't really need it. I tied my hair up into a ponytail as I left my room and headed to the mess hall.

I got there and picked up one of the trays with breakfast on it, I turned around and faced the tables, scanning around the room, trying to find somewhere to sit. I felt my heart drop when I saw my old table, and saw Teyla, Rodney, John and now Ronon sitting there and eating together. I watched them for a few seconds; Rodney was talking to Ronon with his mouth full as Teyla was listening intently. The hulk was sitting there nodding or shaking his head in a gruff manner like I always saw him do. And then I looked at John, he had been smirking and shaking his head at something Rodney had said when I saw his gaze lift and he saw me standing and staring at them. His expression changed from happiness and laughter to being completely blank as I looked away, and my gaze landed on Nathan Fields and Chris Porter sitting at a nearby table. They were talking to themselves as they laughed at something one of them said as I cleared my throat behind them. Nathan turned in his seat as Chris looked up at me, they both looked equally as stunned to see me standing here.

"Can I join you?" I asked them both as Nathan nodded quickly.

"Sure, here…." He said to me as he moved his tray out of the way so I could place mine down and sit next to him.

"Thanks," I said as I sat in the chair. Chris was still staring at me with a big question mark over his head. "What?" I barked out at him playfully. Chris and Nathan shared a look, as Nathan was the one to speak.

"Just—uh, don't you normally sit with your team?" He asked as I started to eat my scrambled eggs.

"Didn't you her?" I said, giving him a side-glance, "I kicked myself out of the team," I stated to them.

"Why?" Chris asked. I shrugged.

"I thought it would've gone all around Atlantis by now," I said with a chuckle. When I saw their blank faces I rolled my eyes. "I don't get along with Ronon, so I joined Major Lorne's team, he had an open space and Doctor Weir placed me there." They both nodded in understanding as they went back to the conversation that they were having before I interrupted. I continued eating my breakfast but I found I wasn't very hungry at the moment.

Something made me look over my shoulder, maybe it was the feeling of eyes on the back of my head or I found myself wanting to see what he was doing. But I met John's gaze from across the room, he was staring intently at me with a dark frown. His hand was held up to his chin like he was thinking about something. After two seconds I couldn't hold his gaze any longer without me feeling guilty. I knew that Nathan had some sort of feelings for me and for me to sit with him was a low blow move on my part but I wasn't going to sit on my own like a loner and cause and even bigger mess for myself. But looking at his frown, I wished I had sat alone.

* * *

"Excited to get back out there?" Lorne asked me as we geared up in the armory. This team consisted of Lorne, myself, Reed and Harris. It felt kind of weird being the only girl seeing as Teyla and I had been so close but they didn't see me as a girl here, they only saw me as Major Sumner.

"Can't wait," I said less then enthusiastic. I was just thankful to be getting out of Atlantis and away from John for a day or two. Atlantis had become extremely suffocating these last few days on base. Once we were ready we headed out to the gate room as I followed on the end, dragging my feet sluggishly. I walked up the small ramp into the gate room as I saw Lorne talking to John nearby. I detoured and stood next to Reed as we waited for the gate to dial. I was watching Lorne and John, trying to be inconspicuous as I checked over my p-90 as the gate connected. I caught the last part of their conversation.

"Careful out there, Lorne," John said to him as Lorne nodded.

"Will do," he replied as he turned on his heel and passed by me, I gave him a weak smile as I couldn't help myself but glance at John quickly. This time he wasn't frowning or glaring at me but for the first time I saw the sadness on his face, he was upset that I wasn't on the team anymore, he was broken because I had ended our relationship. I couldn't think about that now, I had a mission to do. I turned on my heel and marched through the gate with my new team.

* * *

"It's so hot!" Reed exclaimed after half an hour of walking. As I thought previously this planet had a very high temperature during the day, and it was extremely humid here also, my hair was sticking to the sides of my face and if I rinsed out my shirt I could probably fill a water bottle with how much sweat I had collected there. Even though the tall trees here provided us shade it didn't do anything about the heat or the humidity. We hadn't encountered any indigenous life as of yet but we knew they were here from the scans the MALP did from the previous day.

"Stop complaining," Harris groaned at him. Reed and Harris were around five meters in front of Lorne and I as we walked together along the dirt path.

"So," Lorne said quietly enough so that Harris and Reed couldn't hear. "What's the reason for you leaving the team?" Lorne asked as I looked over at him with a frown.

"You know the reason," I told him, hoping it would refresh his memory.

"Oh, right, Ronon," Lorne said sarcastically. "Sure there isn't another reason?" Lorne said with a pointed look as I slowed us down to a snail's pace walk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped at him as Lorne grinned and chuckled.

"I thought maybe it had something to do with Colonel Sheppard," Lorne stated. I faltered in my step, also tripped over a tree root on the ground but catching myself before I face planted.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said. What the hell was Lorne playing at? Did he…know? He couldn't possibly know, he's only been here a few months at most; he came with the new batch of recruits!

"Come on, Sumner," Lorne scoffed, "I'm not stupid. I saw the way you two looked at each other before we left, my guesses is Ronon wasn't the only reason why you left the team."

 _Shit,_ I thought. Well, the cat was out of the bag now. I pulled on Lorne's arm to stop him from walking.

"Look," I hissed at him. "We had…something but we aren't together anymore, so you can't say anything to anyone, ok?"

"Your secret is safe with me," Lorne said seriously.

"Seriously?" I asked him with a quirked brow. Lorne laughed.

"I'm not an asshole, Mia," Lorne said with a grin. I let go of his arm.

"Good, and if I ever find out that you told anyone, I'd have to kill you," I said with a sweet smile as I continued on walking. I could hear Lorne laughing behind me.

An hour after we had arrived on the planet we had finally made contact with the indigenous people of the planet. They were a simple people, farmers that grew their own food and made their own clothes. Their houses were simple logs and mud and didn't have any weapons of any sorts to protect themselves. Surprisingly they had never come across travellers before, probably because they lived so far from the gate, but they did know about the Wraith. Like nearly all of the planets we had visited, they too suffered at their hands, but they had been spared from the violent culling's that had plague the galaxy before our siege.

Even though these people had never come across strangers before they were very welcoming and relished in the opportunity to become trading partners with us. Lorne was currently sitting in with their village elder talking about all the farming technology we could give them to help produce more food and resources. I was sitting just outside of the village under the shade of one of the trees. I was watching the village people go about their day, it was amazing, they were so accustomed to this weather so much that it was like a cool day for them, whereas my team and me were dying of heat exhaustion. I bet if we brought them to a different planet with a normal temperature they'd probably freeze to death.

I saw Lorne leave the house he had been talking with the elder with, he spotted Reed and Harris talking to some of the villagers nearby and then he spotted me sitting over here. I watched him walk over to me.

"Hey," he said as he reached me.

"Hi," I replied as he took a seat next to me. "How'd the negotiations go?" I asked him as Lorne nodded.

"Good, they went well. They've agreed to a share of the crops every harvest when we teach them more efficient ways to farm their land, I also offered to bring some of our own contacts here to establish trade relations such as the Athosian's to further their own industry."

"Sounds good, when do we return to Atlantis?" I asked him.

"Well they've graciously offered up some beds for us for the night, I agreed, thought it would be a nice way to solidify our friendship with them, then just ditch them."

"Great, It'd be nice to have some time away from Atlantis, it's been too long since I've been out on a mission which doesn't end in me getting shot at by old friends or Wraith," I said as I lay back on the soft grass.

"And Colonel Sheppard," Lorne said playfully to me as I sat up and glared at him. I went to kick out my leg at him but he jumped up.

"Alright," he said, holding his hands up in surrender, "Sorry, sorry! I won't mention it again," he was chuckling which caused me to glare at him harder. "I'm going to head back to the gate with Harris, if anything happens radio me."

"I hope you get sucked in by the vortex!" I called after him as he was walking toward Harris and Reed. Lorne looked over his shoulder.

"That's not very nice, Sumner!"

"You'll get used to it!" I called back with a grin. Lorne chuckled as I watched him walk off with Reed. As I lay back down on the grass once more I thought to myself, _maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all._

* * *

The next few weeks passed by slowly and uneventfully, most of my days were spent out on missions with my new team, or helping Zelenka out with some Wraith technology that we were still examining from the dart. And then I spent every night in the gym, sometimes Nathan would join me and we'd spar together, I didn't realize, but Nathan was slowly helping me get control over the fear I had over Ford's attack and Ronon's surprise attack. I would always instruct Nathan to attack me from behind, the first time he had done it I froze up, but every time we went over it, I was getting better at controlling my fear and not freezing up anymore, I'd say that was an improvement.

I was spooning around my cereal in the mess hall. It was early in the morning and I'd come here after my shower and morning run, I could feel my damp hair on my back as I rubbed my tired eyes and yawned loudly. I didn't have a mission today with my team but I had gotten up early anyway. I spooned a mouthful into my mouth as I wiped away the dripping milk off my chin as someone sat down opposite me.

"Nathan," I said in surprise, chewing on my cereal. Nathan was dressed in his uniform like me; I noticed he didn't have any breakfast with him.

"Hey," he said, leaning on the table with a cheeky grin on his face. I frowned at him.

"What's with the grin?" I asked, chuckling as Nathan twiddled his fingers together.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" He blurted out as I almost dropped my spoon into my cereal.

"What?" I asked, confused. Nathan laughed as he ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair. "I was wondering, seeing as it's been a few months since Ford's been gone. If you would like to have dinner with me?" I felt my jaw drop slightly as I stared at Nathan. I was stunned for two different reasons; one being that I never expected to be asked out on a date again, let alone in Atlantis of all places. And two; well…

"You thought that Ford and I were together?" I asked incredulously.

"Weren't you?" Nathan asked. I thought about it for a few seconds, maybe it was a good idea for people to think that Ford and I had been together. I guess nearly the entire base was thinking that now from my departure of my old team.

I cleared my throat, "Yeah, Ford and I were together…not anymore…obviously," I mumbled.

"So you'll have dinner with me?" Nathan asked once more. I thought it was quite ridiculous seeing as Nathan and I had dinner together every other night and that dinner here was always mashed potatoes and gravy most nights; not exactly romantic.

"You mean like a date?" As I asked, I saw someone walk by the table, heading towards the door. I glanced up, wondering why they had walked so close to my table when it was a rather large room, and I felt my heart sink. I recognized the back of his head, and his signature walk. I had to quickly look back at Nathan, to not show why I felt so rotten to my stomach. John had walked by at the exact moment I had spoken, and I hadn't spoken quietly, and there wasn't a chance in hell that he hadn't heard me.

"Is that a no?" Nathan asked when I didn't reply straight away. I focused on Nathan, I couldn't worry about if John had heard me or not, it didn't matter anymore, we weren't together so I saw no reason as to why I couldn't have a harmless dinner with Nathan Fields.

"Sure," I said with a smile, "Why not?"

"Great!" Nathan said, beaming. "I'll see you tomorrow at six thirty then," he said as he rose from the table and hurried off. I sighed as I pushed my bowl away from me as I hit my forehead on the table loudly.

* * *

I grunted as I hit the mat hard. The wind rushed out of my lungs as I flopped my arms onto the mat from exhaustion.

"You're getting better," I ground out through my teeth as Nathan towered over me with a smirk.

"I've been practicing," he said smugly as he extended his hand down for me. I grimaced at him as he helped pull me up. I had been teaching Nathan for the past few weeks now on how to improve on his hand-to-hand combat, and seeing for the first time he had actually managed to get me on my ass, I'd say I have some competition around here now. I rubbed my sore back with my hand as Nathan chuckled at me. I frowned at him.

"Hey, I haven't exactly been on my A game for a while," I said as Nathan rolled his eyes at me. "Let's go again," I told him as I moved back into my defensive position. Nathan took his stance as the door to the gym opened as I looked over at it as Lorne came striding in geared up. I felt my stomach drop at his expression.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, meeting him in the middle of the room. Lorne looked from Nathan to me.

"Colonel Sheppard's team is missing," he stated as I felt my jaw drop.

"What?" I gasped. Lorne could see that I was freaking out over this news. What had happened to them? Why were they missing?

"I'm getting a team together to go to their planet, let's go," Lorne ordered as he turned on his heel. I turned to Nathan as he motioned for me to go as I jogged after Lorne.

I geared up in the armory as Lorne and I walked up the to jumper bay. We met Reed as he stood by he Jumper as Lorne and I walked in. "All yours," Lorne said to me as he pointed to the pilot seat. I frowned at him.

"Uh, don't you want to fly it?" I asked him. I knew Lorne could fly the jumper, he had the Ancient gene and John had also taught him. And a part of me was used to having the leader fly seeing as John always did.

"You've had the most training," Lorne stated as he nudged me into the chair. I sat down and powered up the jumper, throwing Lorne a sincere smile as I saw Elizabeth walk into the Jumper.

"All set?" She asked us.

"Ready to go," Lorne told her, "still no word from them?"

"Nothing," Elizabeth said sadly as she sat down in the co-pilot next to me and gave me a weak smile.

"Don't worry, we'll find them," Lorne tried to reassure Elizabeth as she smiled and nodded at him in gratitude for trying to reassure her.

"I was hoping to negotiate a trade agreement, now I'm worried I'm going to have to negotiate their release," she muttered.

"We don't know that," Lorne said. Elizabeth still didn't look convinced as she turned to me.

"Dial the gate, but go to stealth mode the moment we're through," she told me as I nodded and dialed the gate.

* * *

We flew through the gate as I immediately hit the button for the jumper to go in stealth mode. I saw Elizabeth lean forwards in her seat as she scoured the planet with her eyes.

"Is the jumper picking anything up?" She asked me as I thought about the life signs detector that the jumper had as the screen popped up.

"It's not reading the jumper, I've got life signs on this island and were their city is but no jumper readings," I sighed as the HUD disappeared. Elizabeth pressed her lips into a fine line.

"Let's head to the city, keep us in stealth mode until we get there, I don't want them knowing that we're here yet."

"Yes, ma'am," I said to her as I maneuvered the jumper towards their city.

It took nearly half an hour to reach the city and as soon as I saw a landing strip Elizabeth ordered me to de cloak the jumper as I set it down on he strip. I glanced behind me at Lorne, as he looked concerned as Elizabeth rose from her chair and headed to the cargo bay door. She nodded for me to open the door as I did as I stood next to Lorne as Reed took up place next to Elizabeth. I watched the door lower and saw about four-security detail waiting for us. They didn't look hostile…but neither did I until you pissed me off. Elizabeth stepped forwards.

"My name is Elizabeth Weir, I am from a small contingent that used to reside in Atlantis. I would like to speak to your Magistrate," Elizabeth commanded as I was suddenly thrust back to when she took charge on the Genii planet, negotiating the bombs and I knew that she wasn't playing around right now. One of the guards bowed slightly.

"Please, follow us," he said smoothly as Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder at the three of us and then walked out of the jumper. Lorne and I followed. I looked around at their city as we were walked through the heart of it; they were very advanced that was evident from their structures and the fact that they had flying ships. It was a miracle that the Wraith hadn't culled them, I had been told that the planet that we had seen was like an Alcatraz but if I were the Wraith I wouldn't let just that island slip by. It made me wonder if something else was at play here that we didn't know about. They brought us to the centre of the city as a small group was standing outside of the doors; one was a rather large man with greying hair and beard and he was standing next to a young woman who was tall, thin and groomed to perfection. As we approached our entourage detached from us and stood behind the magistrate. The man beamed at us.

"I am surprised at how quick you want to settle the negotiations," the Magistrate said to us. I could feel the tension from Elizabeth as she stepped closer to him.

"We aren't here for that," she said to him as I saw the smile drop from his face. He looked between all of us.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"Our team never made it back through the gate," she said to him. He seemed to look concerned as he beckoned for us to come inside the large building. I walked behind Lorne and Elizabeth as they both walked with the Magistrate up ahead.

"They have not returned to the planet?" he asked as we walked.

"No," Elizabeth said, "and we haven't been able to establish radio contact with them either."

"They didn't return to the city. Perhaps they travelled through the Ring to another planet?"

"No, they would've radioed first," Elizabeth said to him.

"Something must've happened on the island. I'll alert our security teams, have them begin a search," Magistrate said to us.

"We'll join them," Lorne piped up.

"I would advise against that," Magistrate said to him, causing me to frown and Lorne to become defensive.

"Would you?" Elizabeth asked him with a suspicious look.

"The island is extremely dangerous. Our ships are heavily armored. We know the terrain, as well as the prisoners' tactics. Don't worry, we'll find them," he said trying to reassure us.

"I hope you do Magistrate—for all our sakes," Elizabeth said warningly.

"Of course," Magistrate said with a forced smile as he turned around and walked off with his contingent. I saw Elizabeth and Lorne exchange suspicious looks as I moved closer to them.

"I hope I'm not the only one who thinks we shouldn't be trusting this guy," I hissed to them as Elizabeth turned to me.

"You aren't the only one," she said.

We were shown to a suit in the upper levels of the building, we were told to wait here until news about the search party. It was very luxurious, with large flowers; white linen covered the buffet tables and plush carpet. Reed and I were examining the food that had been left out for us by Marin, the young girl I had seen standing next to the Magistrate, she was like his assistant or something. Reed picked up a piece of fruit that looked like a pineapple but was red all over.

"I'll give you five bucks to eat it," Reed murmured to me as I smacked it out of his hand and glared at him. I heard the doors open from behind us as Reed and I both turned and saw the Magistrate walk in with his small entourage, Marin included.

"I'm afraid the news is not good," Magistrate said as I hurried up to Elizabeth's side. Oh god, were they dead? I felt my heart plummet. "Our rescue teams had just begun their search on the island when the Ancestral Ring activated."

"The Wraith?" Elizabeth asked. _Bit convenient, isn't it?_

"It appears a culling is underway. We're not sure how many ships are involved but our teams we're forced to fall back. I'm not giving up hope. I'll send teams back in the moment the Wraith are gone. Hopefully your friends will have evaded the culling. I must attend to this," Magistrate says as he bows to us and leaves the room. I face the others.

"I don't like this, something doesn't add up," I told them as Elizabeth nodded.

"I know, but I want to get to the bottom of this, we'll just have to wait and see…Lorne?" She said to him as he nodded, she looked to Reed and then to me. "Be on your guard," she told us as the three of us nodded. I held onto my p-90 tighter as we waited anxiously.

The door opened some fifteen minutes later and the petite woman, Marin, hurried in looking behind her in a panic.

"Marin? What's happened?" Elizabeth asked her as Marin took a deep breath. I could see the anxiety on her face.

"No one must know that I'm speaking to you," she whispered quietly to us.

"Of course," Elizabeth said with reassurance.

"You should leave, as soon as possible," Marin told us as I frowned and stepped closer to hear more clearly.

"Why?" Lorne asked her.

"The Magistrate has just rescinded my orders to send rescue teams back to the island," Marin explained as Lorne and I exchanged furious looks.

"What? Why would he do that?" Elizabeth asked in outrage.

"Several arrests have been made. Many people in the city have been apprehended for unspecified violations, to be sent to the island to increase the population there," Marin explained.

"To keep the Wraith fed," Lorne, muttered in disgust.

"It's been going on for some time," Marin said desperately, "but never so bad as this. The number of arrests has…I cannot keep quiet any longer. I have to speak out."

The door behind us suddenly bursts open as I spin around, prepared to attack whomever was barging through the door. The Magistrate entered surrounded by guards.

"Lies!" He cried out, "Seeding fear not only among your own people but now our guests. I cannot allow it!"

"I was only trying to understand why so many people are being arrested," Marin said desperately.

"Your job is not to question the actions of this government," Magistrate said as he motioned to his guards as they rushed forwards and grasped Marin by her arms and began to drag her from the room.

"No! Wait!" She pleaded to Elizabeth, "Help me! Please!"

"Where are they taking her?" Elizabeth demanded as Marin was dragged from sight.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Magistrate said with a forced smile.

"What crime has she committed?" Elizabeth asked with a glare.

"I've recently learned that Marin has been involved in a group seeking to undermine the Oleasian government. She's become very adept at spinning lies to suit her organizations treasonable agenda's," Magistrate said to us. After all of his talking I still didn't believe him so I made a big spectacle of sneezing loudly.

"Sorry, I'm allergic to bullshit," I said with a smirk as I saw the Magistrate and his remaining guards look at me with fury. I heard Reed snigger quietly behind me.

"Did you or did you not rescind the order to send rescue teams back to the island?" Elizabeth asked him with a sharp voice.

"Why would I do that?" Magistrate asked with a chuckle.

"That doesn't concern me," Elizabeth snapped, "my first concern's with the safety of my people, and I promise you—"

"Everything is being done to ensure their rescue and safe return. If there's been any hindrance at all, it was because of Marin."

"What's going to happen to her now?" Elizabeth asked.

"She'll receive a fair trail in our courts."

"I've heard that before," I muttered under my breath.

"And then what? Sent to the island?" Lorne snapped at him.

"I'm sure where you come from, treason is also considered a very serious offence," Magistrate said.

"So that's a yes," Lorne muttered. Elizabeth nodded to him and then looked back at the Magistrate.

"Tell me: what else is considered a serious offense around here?"

"Anything that threatens the welfare of the Olesian people."

"Are you sure it's the welfare of the people that concerns you? Or just your own?" Elizabeth pressed.

"Choose your words very carefully, Doctor Weir," Magistrate said warningly.

"Oh, I do," she said with a glare, "why? Is that a threat?"

"It's advice," he said sternly, "from one ally to another."

"Well this alliance, it's just been rescinded," Elizabeth said smoothly as she glanced at us from over her shoulder, "We're leaving," she said to us. I nodded to her as we took a step towards the door when the guards put their hands on their weapons, warning us not to go any further. "What? You plan to arrest us too?" Elizabeth warned him as I saw the old mans eyes wonder over all of our determined and my furious look. "Because you do not want to do that," Elizabeth said as we all got the cue to point our weapons at them. Mine was aimed directly at the Magistrate as he and Elizabeth stared down each other. It took a few seconds, but the Magistrate backed down and moved to the side and allowed us to leave the room.

Elizabeth led the group with Lorne following hot on her heels while Reed and I brought up the rear, I was constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure that the Magistrate didn't change his mind at the last second and decide to hunt us down but it seemed that he was true to his word. We arrived at the jumper as I hit the remote to open up the rear hatch as we all climbed in. I hurried to the pilot seat.

"We should hurry up and find them, I have a feeling that the Wraith were here for another reason other than doing a culling on the island," I said to Elizabeth as she sat down in the chair next to me. She seemed to understand at what I was getting at as she pulled a disgusted face and nodded. Once we were all seated and the door was closed I took us into the air and headed out to sea and towards the island.

We were flying over the sea and almost at the island when an alarm beeped and the HUD popped up.

"Shit," I muttered.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked as I felt Lorne lean on the back of my seat. I pointed at the screen.

"There's a Wraith cruiser heading for the island and I'm picking up several more on approach outside the atmosphere," I told them as I saw the dread on Elizabeth's face.

"Go to stealth mode. Let's find our guys before they do," she told me as I nodded and hit the button for the cloak.

We reached the island when I saw the cruiser descending on the planet. "This doesn't look good, there's no way we can get them and not be spotted," I told her as Elizabeth and Lorne were scanning the trees below trying to see anyone. I frowned when I saw something golden shoot out from the trees and hit the cruiser.

"Look!" I called.

"Did you see that?" Lorne asked.

"A drone," Elizabeth confirmed as I nodded. I hit some of the communication controls on the dashboard. "What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked.

"Now that we know where the Jumper is, I should be able to get a lock on their portable radio signals…there!" I said in triumph as I hit the comms and nodded to Elizabeth.

"Colonel Sheppard. You've damaged the Wraith cruiser and it's leaving the area but there are two more cruisers incoming," Elizabeth said to them as we watched the scene before us.

" _Elizabeth, where are you?"_ I heard John's voice as I felt a shiver go up my spine. Elizabeth grins in delight from hearing his voice.

"We're in Jumper two. We're cloaked, directly above you. Are you all alright?" She asked him. I hoped that everyone was ok…even Ronon.

" _Our Jumper's disabled. Right now I need you to dial the gate to one of the back up planets for the Alpha site. Doesn't matter which one."_

"Understood," she said to him, she turned to me. "Do it." I nodded. I dialed the gate to the planet. From here I could see the gate connect as the prisoners all fled from the island.

" _Elizabeth, I need you to keep the gate open until the last of them go through, then shut it down and dial Atlantis,"_ John said through the radio.

"We can land and pick you up," Elizabeth said to him.

" _Negative, just keep the gate open. We'll take it from there. Stay in stealth mode until the Wraith have gone away,"_ John ordered. I could see that Elizabeth looked conflicted but she understood that we had to stay safe to be able to dial the gate.

"Acknowledged," she replied. We watched as the prisoners all fled from the island as another cruiser begins to descend on the island.

The DHD in front of me stops glowing as we hear the gate shut down in the distance. "Dial Atlantis," Elizabeth tells me as I nod and begin the dialing sequence. "We're dialing, head for the gate," she said through the radio to John and the team. I watch the cruiser start firing shot down on the planet as I bring up the life signs on the HUD. We see five dots running for the gate as I bite my lip in anxiety. I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see all five dots go through the gate and it shuts down. Elizabeth falls back in her chair and sighs also. Lorne and Reed chuckle from behind me. I watch the three cruisers fly off towards the city.

"Dial Atlantis, let's get out of here," Elizabeth said to me. I went to hit the buttons but stopped and flew us closer to the downed Jumper. "What are you doing?" She asked me as I fired a drone at the Jumper as it blew up, incinerating it and leaving nothing behind.

"We don't want the Wraith knowing we were here now, do we?" I told her as I went back to dialing the gate.

"Good call," Lorne commented as he patted my shoulder as I sent through our IDC and flew through the gate and back to Atlantis.

* * *

 **Bit of a boring chapter I know, but it'll all pick up again; and all of you worrying that I'm going to bash Ronon in this story, don't worry I'm not! Ronon is one of my favourtie characters but this is just a hurdle that Mia has to get over before they can become friends, have faith my fellow readers!**

 **REPLIES**

 **thompsonmaria** \- He did do something very bad but we'll have to see if they make up again!

 **Claudi70** \- Yeah she made a very hasty decision that she might regret later, we'll just have to see! Thank you!

 **Guest 64** \- Yeah I feel bad for them too! That's if they make up later on ;) who am I kidding, this is a JohnxOc story, the question is just when and not if hahaha

 **Adela** \- Yeah she kinda dropped a bombshell on him but so did he. We'll just have to see where they go from here.

 **GoldenGod48** \- Don't worry, this isn't going to turn into a bashing Ronon story, he is one of my fav characters also! Mia just has to get over her chip on her shoulder before they can become friends!

 **teekee hut** \- She snapped like twig. I know that people were shocked that she hates Ronon so much but once she see's that he's not a bad guy they'll see that they actually have a lot in common. Lost boys episode is probably so far my favourite thing to have written; just saying ;) I loved your review and I agree with you wholeheartedly! I actually cut out John's POV in this scene as I just wanted it to be from Mia's perspective, but the reasoning behind John not being all commanding was the fact that he thought he was doing the right thing by not telling her because of her PTSD, which backfired on him obviously; and it's starting to show that he cares about Mia more than his position as Military officer. I agree that Mia should've sucked it up and moved on with it but she's kind of feeling that everyone is against her at this point and everyone is trying not to step on her toes as they all know about the difficult time that she is having. It's just showing how much the two of them are slipping up in their relationship now; as stated in this chapter seeing as Lorne figured it all out.

Yeah about that fake out, that was my fault my uploader wasn't working and I was trying out different ways and I accidentally posted a blank chapter xD

 **sheppardlover928** \- Thank you! And yes it's continuing!


	40. Emergence - Chapter 40

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the delay I was having trouble with my internet again! So last chapter was kind of a little filler but this one is back on track with the season and we're delving into Trinity in this one. And to be honest this chapter is filled with ANGST...like a whole damn lot.**

 **Also just to clarify, her date with Nathan did NOT happen yet, it's happening in this chapter I didn't skip over that. So this chapter shows just how much conflict Mia is having with her choices and now she has to deal with them all, oh boy this girl does not make any smart decisions!**

 **AS always thank you to everyone who is reading, following and reviewing!**

 **We also hit a milestone today! _40 chapters everyone_! My longest story yet, I'm so happy and pleased with the support and love I get from this story, you readers are the reason why I love to write! Honestly I have no idea how long this story is going to be, if we're at 40 and not even half way through season 2...you guys do the math...**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence  
**

* * *

I landed the jumper in the bay back on Atlantis as we all filed out and headed down to the control room. I was the last one to enter the room as I watched Elizabeth talk to John, Teyla, Rodney and Ronon. Lorne stood off to the side as he added in his own comments when needed as they spoke about what happened on the planet for them to have their jumper disabled. I knew I wasn't needed here so I slipped by them and headed down the stairs. It felt extremely awkward to not be with them, to not be explaining about our daring escapes and having the longing looks that John and I shared each time after a mission, knowing that we were all safe. This time it was my new team and I that had saved them and now I avoided his look at all costs.

I had dropped off my gear in the armory, as I was leaving I walked into Teyla.

"Mia," she said with a smile. "I was hoping to catch you."

"What's up?" I asked her, mirroring her smile.

"I was hoping you would have dinner with me tonight?" Teyla asked as I grinned. It would be the first time that Teyla and I would be doing something together ever since my departure from the team.

"Sure!" I said enthusiastically, but then my smile dropped as I remembered I had other plans. "Wait, I can't tonight," I said to her as Teyla kept her smile.

"It's fine, we'll have dinner tomorrow," she said as I nodded.

"Definitely," I told her with a smile as she left me standing in the doorway to the armory. I sighed and remembered I had agreed to dinner with Nathan tonight. I looked at my watch on my wrist and saw that it was coming up to five pm. I knew I had to at least try and enjoy my time with Nathan, even though I knew he had romantic feelings to me I had to reaffirm that I wasn't ready for another relationship, seeing as I was still hurting over John.

 _And speak of the fucking devil_ , I thought bitterly as John rounded the corner in front of me. He stopped in his tracks, seeing me standing by the door as I felt my breath catch in my throat at the sight of him. Neither of us could look away from the other as a least half a minute passed before I looked down at my feet. I heard him walk closer to me as I felt my heartbeat speed up and my palms became slick with sweat.

"Thanks for the save today," he said quietly as I plucked up all my courage and met his gaze. I shrugged.

"I didn't really do anything, I just flew the Jumper."

"You still came," John said, making me stand there feeling like an idiot. I bit my lip and smiled weakly.

"When I heard—you guys are still my team and I wanted to make sure you were all ok," I told him, trying not to let it seem like I just went for him. Which I didn't, I was compelled to make sure all of them were safe. But there was a little voice inside me saying that I really only went for him.

 _No, I went for all of them!_ I retorted back to my inner self.

"Even so, thank you Mia," he said my name as I felt my heart throw a little jitter. I hadn't spoken to him properly since I had broken it off and seeing him now, talking to me and using my name made my knees feel weak.

"Your welcome," I said quickly, darting away from him and almost jogging down the corridor. I didn't look back for fear of what I might see…

* * *

I sat on my bed in my room staring at the simple clothes I had laid out in preparation of my big night with Nathan. I looked at my bedside clock and saw that it read six-fifteen as I sighed and dressed in my denim jeans and a blue blouse. I threw my hair up into a ponytail and put on simple sandals. Looking at the clock again I watched as it ticked over to six-thirty. Simultaneously there was a knock at the door as I sighed and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. I headed to the door as I swiped my hand over the sensor. The door opened.

"Oh," I said in surprise when I saw Nathan. He was dressed in a smart black button down shirt and dress pants. I looked down at my own attire, it was very casual and Nathan looked…like he was really trying.

His blonde hair was styled to the side and he was clean-shaven, I could smell his aftershave from here. I felt guilty, I knew that he had feelings for me, I should've said no to this date. It was too soon, I hadn't moved on from John yet. I know that I broke it off between us because he had betrayed my trust and gone behind my back but it didn't mean that I still didn't love him. But a part of me knew that I had to let go of him, it was wrong of us to start our relationship and it shouldn't continue. "Should I change into something else?" I asked Nathan as I saw him look me up and down.

"No," he breathed with a grin. "You look amazing," he said. I felt my cheeks blush at his compliment.

"Thank you," I said timidly.

"You ready?" Nathan asked me as I looked down the hall behind him. I half expected to see John walking down it seeing as he had the uncanny ability to always appear when I was around him, but the hallway was empty.

"Yeah," I said with a smile, and surprising myself as it wasn't forced. I watched as he extended his arm for me as I stared at it for a few seconds. Then I slowly reached out as I looped my arm around his as he tugged me out from my room as we both laughed together as we walked to the nearest transporter.

"Where are we going?" I asked Nathan after we climbed three flights of stairs after the transporter.

"You'll see," he said mysteriously as I frowned and smirked at him. He walked us down a short corridor before we stopped us outside of a door as I glanced around us. Nathan reached for the sensor as the door opened and he pulled me inside. I let out a small gasp at the display before me. There was a small table set up with two plates of food, two long candles and two wine glasses.

"Oh wow," I breathed. I felt a tight knot in my stomach looking at the obvious display of affection that Nathan was showing me. I felt like it was too much, that he shouldn't have gone to all this trouble just for me when I wasn't even putting in any effort at all for him.

"The foods from the mess hall," Nathan said sheepishly as I turned to look at him, "I just plated it up to look nice, I can't cook at all," he said, I saw his cheeks slightly reddening. I bit my bottom lip and looked back at the table.

"It's looks amazing," I told him as I saw him grin at me. He took my hand, surprising me as he tugged me over to the chair on the left. He pulled it out for me as I sat down, thanking him for his courteous ways as he took his own seat.

We ate, and talked about each other. I found out that Nathan is one of six children back home; he's from Colorado and was stationed at the SGC before being selected to come on the Atlantis expedition. Both of his parents are retired Military but he was the only one of his siblings to enlist in the Air Force. He missed his family but he knew that he was doing some good being out here. I didn't really want to talk about myself, scared that I would reveal too much about my own hardships that I wasn't ready for anyone to know about. Only Elizabeth and John knew about Liam and my tainted record and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as I possibly could.

I found myself enjoying my time with Nathan; he had become a good friend for me to talk to, it felt like I was talking to Ford again.

We had long finished our food and were just talking about random things about ourselves that the other didn't know, and at the same time I was having strong memories of when John and I had been sitting in the mess hall, almost a year ago and doing this exact thing. I did feel a sharp pang in my chest but it died down when Nathan said something that made me laugh loudly.

I glanced down at my watch on my wrist and saw that it was nearly ten pm at night, we had been talking for over three hours. Nathan saw me looking as he smirked.

"It's late, I guess we should head back," he said to me as I nodded. I stood up from my chair as Nathan and I walked to the door.

"Do you want help to clean all of this up?" I asked him, pointing to the dinner table. Nathan shook his head.

"Nah, it's alright, I'll come do it tomorrow," he said.

"Are you sure? I feel bad if I don't help," I argued as Nathan chuckled.

"Honestly, Mia, it's fine," he said as he took my hand in his and led us out of the room. I felt my face flush from his gesture and boldness as we made our way back to the living quarters.

He stopped us outside my room, his hand still held mine in his as I could feel an uncomfortable knot in the pit of my stomach. "I had a really good time tonight," Nathan said to me.

"Me too," I said with a smile. I wasn't lying, I did have a nice time with Nathan, for me it felt like I was back with Ford but I knew that he felt differently about our time together. I wanted to tell him that I only thought of him as a friend and I didn't want to lead him on the wrong way, but I didn't have a chance to say as I saw his face looming closer to mine. I felt my insides freeze up as his lips pressed against mine softly. It was different from when John kissed me, when he kissed me I felt everything inside turn warm and my head felt like it was floating above me. When Nathan kissed me, it felt like a normal kiss.

Nathan pulled away after a few seconds, his dark eyes searched over my face for something as I tired to keep the grimace off my face. I sure as hell didn't want to kiss Nathan, but I also didn't push him away…what the hell is wrong with me?

"Um," I said as he stared into my eyes, I was at a loss for words.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Nathan said to me. I couldn't speak and all I could do was nod. I thought Nathan was going to leave but all of a sudden he took my face in his hands and pressed another kiss to my lips, this one was a lot rougher and I could feel my lips were going to be bruised from it. I had to force myself to kiss him back and not stand there like a deer in headlights. It was over in a minute as Nathan pulled away and turned on his heel and marched off. I was left standing outside my room, my breath panting and my face red.

* * *

The next morning I lay in bed for a few extra minutes, I wanted to believe that what happened last night had been a total dream, but it wasn't. I had really gone on a date with Nathan and he had kissed me, twice. I rubbed my face and ran a hand through my hair as I got out of bed and dressed for the day.

I went to the mess hall and spotted Teyla at a table all by herself, I felt my heart soar at finally being able to sit with someone other then Chris and Nathan. I bounded over to her with a giant smile on my face, she looked up when she saw me approach the table and grinned herself.

"Mia, what a pleasant surprise," she said as I took a seat opposite her. I pinched one of her pieces of toast as I shoveled it into my mouth.

"Same here, it's been a long time since we've had breakfast together," I told her as she chuckled at my full mouth.

"Are we still having dinner tonight?" She asked as I nodded.

"Yep. As long as nothing disastrous happens within the next eight hours," I chortled as Teyla shook her head and chuckled.

"Morning ladies," a new voice joined as I felt my insides clench. I snapped my gaze on John as he moved around Teyla with a tray and sat down next to her. I had to remind myself to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth at least ten times in the span of a minute.

"Good morning, Colonel," Teyla greeted with a pleasant smile.

"Morning," I muttered quietly. And now I felt like a horrible human being. But something confused the shit out of me. Why the hell was John being so happy and nice to me? Why on Earth would he come and sit on this table when he knew I had a date with Nathan last night? If the roles were reversed I wouldn't be caught ten meters from him.

"Morning guys," another voice said and I almost screamed. I felt hands on my shoulders as they squeezed gently as I titled my head up to see Nathan above me with a charming smile. And to my absolute horror he took a seat next to me, directly across from John. Nathan turned his smile on me.

"What are you doing?" I couldn't stop myself from asking him as he threw an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to his body. I felt like I was about to go into cardiac arrest.

"Colonel Sheppard offered an invitation to come and join you guys for breakfast," Nathan explained to me as I let my mouth hang open in shock. Nathan then delved into a conversation with Teyla about some of the combo's he had been trying. I could feel his hand gripping my shoulder and the warmth his arm spread across my neck. My side was pressed up against his and I could feel the hints of a blush creeping over my face from the utter embarrassment.

And then I finally looked at him; he was leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed and a stupid smirk on his face. His hazel eyes bore into mine as I held his gaze for a few seconds. I honestly had no idea what game he was playing by inviting Nathan to the table but it made me mad. I wanted to scream at him, to ask him what his problem was but I had to hold myself back, he wanted to get a rise out of me and I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of it. I turned my glare from John away as I looked up at Nathan, he was still talking to Teyla about the trouble he was having with disarming and the Athosian woman was kindly offering some tip and tricks. I suddenly stood from my chair, the conversation between them died off.

"I forgot, I have to go and do—help Rodney with something," I said quickly and before anyone could ask me what was wrong I hurried out of the room.

* * *

I went to Rodney's lab and I was thankful of the fact that he wasn't even here at the moment. I went and sat down at his desk and leant on it, looking over all of his whiteboards with intense equations on them. I just didn't get John sometimes, you'd think after seeing your ex-girlfriend with another guy you'd want to stay the hell away from her, but no, he had to invite him to the table and make me feel uncomfortable as hell. It wasn't like Nathan and I were dating anyway, we had done dinner and he had kissed me twice last night. And besides, I shouldn't care what John thought anymore as we weren't together, so next time, if it ever happened again and hopefully it doesn't I'll act like everything is normal and not run away like a tiny child. And if John wanted to play dirty I could too…

"Hey…uh, what are you doing here?" Rodney asked me a couple of hours later. I was still in his lab, going over some new Ancient data and Wraith data some of the new teams had brought back, I hadn't ventured far from the desk, for fear of seeing either John or Nathan. Rodney had just walked in, looking as happy as Larry.

"Just going over some of the data," I muttered, looking back down at the screen. Rodney walked over to me.

"Whatever, I need my computer, we just came back from a planet that has a pretty interesting Ancient device on it."

"Really?" I asked enthusiastically. Rodney rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, you can look over the data," he said as he pushed the chair so I rolled out of the way for him to do his magic. After a couple of seconds I moved myself back by the computer so that I could peel over his shoulder at it.

"What the hell is it?" I asked, trying to make sense of the schematics and equations I saw.

"Don't know. Elizabeth has given us the all clear to return with a science team to investigate. I want you to come," Rodney said as my eyebrows shot up into my hairline.

"Really? Me?"

Rodney nodded and rolled his eyes, "yes, you. You may just be a Mechanical Engineer but you know about Ancient systems, now hurry up and get ready." He ordered as I jumped out of my seat and raced from the room.

I headed up to the jumper bay once I was geared up and ready to go. There was about a dozen other scientists going to this new planet as well so I followed them all up after I got my vest and p-90. They were all chatting excitedly about the machine that Rodney had found and what type of energy or whatever it was could be used for. I was just happy to be getting away from my problems here on Atlantis that started with a J and N. I came up to the Jumper bay and was about to head into the nearest one when I heard someone call my name, "Mia!"

I turned and saw Nathan walking up to me with a smile, "I heard you were going to check out the thing that McKay found."

"Yeah," I said as he reached me, "He wants me there for some reason." I said to him. From over his shoulder I saw John enter the bay, his gaze moved over to us, I saw his jaw tense slightly as he stared. Nathan had been saying something to me but I wasn't paying attention to him, instead I reached up and wound my fingers around the back of his head as I pulled him down to meet me in a kiss. He was surprised at my actions but he soon returned my kiss. I knew this was petty and ridiculous to play this game with John, but he was the one who started it. I pulled away from Nathan, seeing the goofy grin he had on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I guess I'll see you later, then," he said to me as I gave him a sultry look.

"See you later," I replied as I watched Nathan walk off with a spring in his step. I had caught the attention of a few scientists around me as they continued to stare at me. I crossed my arms and glared at them as they moved on. With my arms still crossed I turned slowly and saw John glaring at me with a gaze that could murder someone as I smirked at him. He muttered something under his breath as he moved into the nearest jumper.

* * *

We were back on this planet for the second time; Rodney had deduced that the thing on the planet was some super destructive weapon and that the giant thing in the chambers was a super power source. Honestly he had me at super weapon. Though these calculations were way, way beyond my knowledge but I was still able to decipher some of the weapons logs for Rodney and Zelenka, which hadn't turned up good by the way. It was logged that the last time this weapon had been activated it had overloaded and the Ancients had managed to shut it down, after that there were no more logs.

I was sitting at the computer in the little alcove; going over some more of the weapons schematics to try and figure out what caused the weapon to overload while Rodney directed some scientists nearby. I scratched my head as I translated the Ancient text and reentered it onto the data pad, I heard a loud thud from behind me as I looked over my shoulder, I saw John lugging around a heavy box that Rodney had told him to come and put near me. When John saw me working over here I spun back around and faced away from him. I began typing away at the computer as I heard John set down the box near me, I glanced out of the corner of my eyes as I saw the shape of him facing this way. I could feel my stomach turning in knots as I bit the inside of my cheek painfully. In the distance I could hear Rodney hollering about something or other and then the next second the whole room was thrust into darkness.

"What the hell?" I muttered, standing up from my chair. I couldn't see anything it was that dark.

"Radek!" I heard Rodney roar. I could hear the scientists around me murmuring together and muffled cries of pain as they walked into random objects. I could hear Zelenka's mutters from inside the tube as I held my hands out in front of me.

"Can we please turn back on the—ah!" I had taken a few steps forwards, and then my foot had gotten caught on something hard, I assumed it was the heavy box that John had just recently put on the ground as I went tumbling over it. I hit a body as I knocked them to the ground also. I heard a familiar 'oof' as I mentally groaned to myself as I landed on his chest.

"You ok?" I heard John ask from underneath me. Our chests were touching and my hands braced myself on the cold floor, our legs were tangled up and I could distinctly feel his hands gripping my waist. When he had spoken his breath caressed my face, alerting me to how close our faces actually were to each other.

"Yeah, just my pride got hurt," I muttered to him as I felt his chest vibrate with his chuckle. I could feel the familiar warmth flow through me as I felt myself grin. I had completely forgotten about the fact we were surrounded by people, all I could think about was all my memories of us in this position in different scenarios, I felt my face flush. I knew John was thinking the same as I could feel his grip tighten ever so slightly on my waist. And then I cleared my throat and hastily pushed myself back up into a standing position. I heard John stand next to me as he brushed himself down. It was still pitch black around us and I could hear Rodney yelling angrily at Zelenka in the distance.

It was a few agonizing minutes later when the lights and power finally came back on. I shielded my eyes from the sudden brightness as I looked around me. Some of the scientists had been sitting on the floor waiting for the power to come back on, others had stopped walking with their arms outstretched, and then I found John. He was leaning on the wall next to me, we were about two meters apart, his arms were crossed and he had a pensive look on his face as he furrowed his brows at the ground. Once he realized that the lights had come back on he glanced up, meeting my gaze for a split second before walking off to where Rodney and Zelenka were, I sighed heavily as I watched him go. I cursed myself at having these feelings for him, even though I was still mad at him, I couldn't get him out of my mind. I felt incredibly stupid and guilty for what I had done back on Atlantis in the jumper bay, and the more I thought about the kiss with Nathan the more I wanted to just throw myself from the central tower.

* * *

"Everything's been triple checked. Power levels are holding steady in all computer simulations," Rodney announced a few hours later. I was sitting at my computer ready to monitor the weapons system once they fired up the power chamber.

"Fire it up," John said as he adorned a pair of safety glasses as he looked back into the chamber. Rodney nods to him as he looks around the room.

"Alright. Attention all personnel; stand by for power up on my mark. Three, two, one, mark," Rodney ordered as I watched Zelenka hit the button on the control system. There was a dull humming all around the room as I spun back to monitor my screen. From my screen I could see that the power was immediately jumping to the weapon extremely fast, the buffer was filling up like a cup of water.

"Radek talk to me," I heard Rodney say after a few seconds.

"I'm picking up some minor power fluctuations. Chamber temperature's holding steady," I heard Zelenka's reply.

"Mia how's your end going?" I heard Rodney call out.

"Weapons buffer is at ninety-five percent," I hollered back to him. There was some tense talking back from Rodney and John but I wasn't paying attention to them.

"Collins see if you can boost more power to the shield manually," Rodney shouted to one of his men as I heard the access tube open and shut. "Prepare for test firing on my mark," Rodney called. I had been watching the screen intently. It ticked over to ninety-six percent and then suddenly it jumped to one hundred as alarms started blaring through the room. I jump back from the computer, turning to the others.

"Levels just spiked into the red!" Zelenka yelled as I hurried over to them.

"Shut it down. Shut it all down," John ordered as he stood next to me.

"I'm trying," Rodney said as he furiously typed away at his keyboard.

"The interface is not responding," Zelenka said to him.

"I'm going to switch to backups," Rodney said, switching to a different computer. All around I could heard the humming of the chambers increasing as the room started to vibrate.

"Levels are going off the scale," Zelenka cried in horror as I watched John turn to Rodney.

"McKay?"

"I have given the command to shut down!" Rodney snapped, "Something's creating an overload."

"We should evacuate," John said to him, looking around at all of the worried scientists in the room.

"Just give me a few seconds," Rodney argued.

"We may not have that time," John snapped at him.

"Wait, wait, wait. It's stabilizing," Zelenka, says as I hear the humming dying down and then it stops completely. "Generator is offline."

"What the hell just happened?" John demanded off Rodney.

"Obviously there was a surge of some kind. Look, Coll—Collins!" Rodney realized something as his eyes widened and he ran off to the access tube. It then dawned on all of us that Rodney and sent him into the access tube just before the spike had happened. I follow after them as we reach the door as Rodney opens it.

"Jesus Christ," I mutter, one hand goes to my mouth as I hear shocked gasps from the scientists behind me. John was standing in front of me and I found myself leaning forwards into his back, my free hand gripping his arm as I saw the burnt and raw body of Collins lying on the tube floor.

* * *

A few days later, I had heard that Rodney had persuaded Elizabeth and John to let him continue with the project. This time only John and Rodney would be returning to the planet to finish what the Ancients started. I was worried about them both of course, knowing what had happened last time, who's to say it wont happen again?

It was late at night, and I couldn't sleep. Knowing that the two were on the planet kept on giving me horrifying images of their dead and burnt bodies on the ground, so I decided to go for a run, hopefully to tire myself out so much that I wouldn't have anything to dream about. I donned my running gear and set off to the South Pier. I arrived quicker then my normal time as I opened the door and halted in my tracks. John was sitting on the bench, facing out to the pitch-black ocean, the sea was calm, I could barely hear the waves slapping against the side of the city. He made no move to show that he knew I was here so I slowly walked towards him. The rational part of my brain was telling me to turn around and walk away, that I had no business with John anymore except concerning missions. I had to keep repeating in my head that I was with Nathan…sort of. But there was a part of me that still cared deeply for him, and that part knew that something was bothering him, by the way he was hunched over and by how still he was.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked quietly. He turned his head quickly, obviously surprised by my presence. I stood a few meters away from him, fiddling with my fingers.

"Why do you care?" He grumbled sharply. I felt my stomach drop painfully as I pursed my lips.

"Ok, ouch," I muttered. I was suddenly thrown back to the planet in the outpost, when I had toppled over the crate and fallen on John. He had held me so securely and gently it was like nothing had ever happened between us. And then I remembered seeing his face after, when he had been leaning on the wall with an almighty frown on his face. "Just because we aren't together anymore doesn't mean I don't care, I can see something is bothering you and I'm not just going to ignore you."

"Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend?" John snapped at me. I huffed and crossed my arms.

"He's not my—It's not like that," I retorted.

"Sure looks like it," he said back as I glared at him.

"What I do with my personal life is of no concern to you anymore." John suddenly stood up, I saw something fall off his lap and onto the floor but I didn't have anytime to see what it was before he was standing in front of me, he towered over me as I stood my ground.

"I'm not the one who's throwing myself around at a guy a month after a serious relationship."

"You asshole!" I screeched at him. I wanted to punch him in the face, I had to hold myself back and instead I fought with my tongue. I knew that this fight had to happen sometime; with both of our personalities we couldn't just let the other come out on top. "I'm not throwing myself at Nathan, and I swear if our relationship was serious then you wouldn't have gone behind my back to place the _fucking Hulk_ on our team without telling me first. You only thought about yourself!"

"I only thought about myself?" John roared as he paced away from me, he was furious but so was I. "What about when you practically had sex with Nathan in the jumper bay to get back at me, you were just thinking about yourself then!"

"I only did that because you were being the biggest jerk in the morning!" I screamed back at him. John shook his head in anger; I could see his whole body shaking with rage.

"McKay and I almost died tonight on that planet," I didn't have time to show my shock because he continued to yell at me, "do you know what was the one thing I kept thinking about, trying to dodge energy blasts?" I knew it was a rhetorical question so I kept my mouth shut. "I thought about you, Mia!"

John faced me again; I could see the trepidation on his face as he gripped his head. "Goddammit, Mia I still love you!" He threw his hands out as I stood there as still as stone. Instead of probably getting the desired reaction out of me, being I would jump his bones and we'd make up like nothing had ever happened, it did the opposite…

"I don't love you," I said firmly. I saw the pain and hurt flash across his face for a split second before it was gone. I felt bad that it had come to this but I wouldn't go running back to him just because of this argument we were having. John was like stone as we continued to stare at each other; I think he was trying to see whether I meant what I had said.

"Fine," he said after a minute, his guard was up. He began to walk passed me, "don't come crying to me when Nathan's done with you."

"I wont," I bit back to him as he left me alone. I heard the door shut as I ground my teeth together and balled my fists up. I was furious at him, I had asked him what was bothering him and he had the gall to explode like that on me. Screw John Sheppard. Something caught my eye on the floor, it was the small rectangle paper that had fallen off his lap when he stood up, he must not have realized. I walked over to it, bending down and picking it up from the floor I flipped it over in my hand. I stared at it; it was a photograph.

"What the hell?"

* * *

"We've got a mission," Lorne said to me the next morning in the mess hall. I was exhausted from my fight with John last night, I hadn't slept a wink as I had been tossing and turning all night. My mind kept replaying out fight we had and also the photo that he had dropped.

"Finally!" I said with a grin to him. It had been some time since we had gone on one since the rescue mission on Olesia. Lorne sniggered as he sat down opposite me.

"It's dangerous," Lorne commented as my smirk grew.

"Dangerous is my middle name."

"So I've been told," he chuckled. "Briefing room in twenty minutes," he said as he walked off. I finished eating my scrambled eggs as laughter from the other side of the room caught my attention. When my gaze settled on the pair my eggs almost fell out of my mouth.

John was sitting at the regular table picking at his food, and to my disgust that silly botanist Daphne Webster was standing very close to him with her hand on his shoulder. I held in my anger, I had no right; I shouldn't feel this jealousy towards them. I had told John that I no longer loved him, I had moved on, I was seeing Nathan, he was perfectly capable of seeing anyone he choose. Then why in the hell was I gripping my fork so tightly? I heard Daphne laugh and it was perfectly pitched and melodious, she flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder, showing off her slender neck. John laughed at something she said and put his arm behind his head. I saw her dainty had run down his arm gently, I wanted to be sick. I threw down my fork on the plate as I gripped my tray and stood up quickly. I took one step, in my haste I wasn't paying attention to the other chair and my foot got caught behind it. I went tumbling to the floor, the plate shattering upon impact as I managed to catch myself so I didn't actually face plant the floor. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks and I could feel numerous stares on my back. Thankfully the mess hall wasn't exactly busy at the moment, only around twenty people or so, but still, it was mortifying.

Taking a deep breath I gathered up the shattered pieces of plate and threw them onto the tray. The talking in the mess hall resumed, but it didn't make me feel any better. From the fight last night with John, when he had made the comment about me basically having sex with Nathan in the jumper bay, I remembered there were a lot of scientists around and people gossiped in this place. I felt like I had a large neon sign above my head reading 'slut'. I could feel angry and embarrassed tears at the corner of my eyes, I felt like an idiot, crying over a stupid plate! I was not going to cry over this, I was being ridiculous.

Once all the pieces were on the tray I stood up, and stopping in front of me was Teyla. "Are you alright?" she asked, seeing the plate. Her eyes slightly narrowed at my face, she was trying to see if I was actually crying. I could imagine that my face was bright red and my eyes were probably watery.

"I'm fine," I said to her as I almost ran over to the bin and dumped the remains of the plate in there and walked out of the room.

* * *

"Time to score in on some Wraith action!" Reed exclaimed as we flew in the jumper over the trees of the abandoned planet. Lorne was sitting beside me as I adjusted the controls; he looked over his shoulder at Reed.

"The info we had said that this outpost has been deserted for some time now, I highly doubt we'll run into any Wraith."

"Yeah, cause we always get that lucky out here," I said sarcastically to Lorne. Reed and Harris chuckled.

"Well, we best be on our guard then," Lorne finished.

I landed the jumper down on the planet around a kilometer from the outpost, even if our Intel did say that this place was abandoned I wasn't taking any chances. We left the jumper in a single file as I cloaked it and pocketed the life signs scanner. It took us around fifteen minutes to get to the outpost, when we could see it Lorne made us stop as we scoped it out first. Lorne took out his binoculars and after a few minutes he spoke.

"There doesn't seem to be any activity outside, Major?" Lorne offered me the binoculars as I looked through them. The outpost was inside a mountain so the only part we could see was the entrance. Large trees hindered most of my sight but from what I could tell it was deserted.

"Looks clear," I said to him as he pocketed the binoculars. I took out the life signs detector and nodded when I only read four life signs in the vicinity.

"Alright, let's head in, but don't let your guard down," Lorne ordered as the three of us nodded as we headed off.

* * *

 **Is this chapter filled with angst or what...  
**

 **So next chapter we are heading into Instinct and Conversion! I wonder what will happen in the next one? *grins* How will Mia handle a crazed and mutating John...you'll find out next week!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **teekee hut** \- Yeah I didn't want to drag out a filler so I just made it for that chapter, there aren't really any more seeing as we're now burning through episodes. I literally only made Nathan for this sole purpose of being Mia's rebound way back in the first season. He's kind of like the poor guy whose just there to make Mia realise her mistakes (when she figures it out, obvs) so poor Nathan...but who really cares about Nathan here? I don't. I'm Team John all the way and these chapters were really hard for me to write cause I was like no Mia, go and get back with mr handsome not this kid, bad girl. There are a few more John P.O.V that I want to do, and i'll be doing more once the season 2 is finished. I need to start making a list of all the ones I need to do and what people want to see xD Good ole' Lorne, he becomes a real good friend to Mia, just saying..

And yeah, John's an idiot he doesn't know how to be a boyfriend at all...hahah

 **Guest 64** \- Yeah I feel bad for them both too, but it's something they must both go through bad mistakes and all. Ronon is like the child that got caught between mummy and daddy's fight and doesn't understand a thing that's going on around him xD But in the next couple of chapters we see Mia and Ronon interacting a little more so we'll see how Mia reacts around him then!

 **Sheppardlover928** \- I hope you enjoyed this one and was pleased that I didn't skip over the date, I guess I just wasn't clear enough but you have the date in this one!


	41. Emergence - Chapter 41

**Hey guys, yep I know I'm late again...sorry but life got in the way the past couple of days. Hope you enjoy this chapter and as always thank you to everyone who reviewed and alerted and followed the story!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

It was a short walk to the entrance, the door was slightly ajar as Reed and Harris put their muscle into it and managed to pry the door open. I coughed and covered my nose when the smell wafted into my nostrils.

"What the fuck?" Reed groaned, dry heaving as he turned away from the door.

"Ugh!" Harris moaned, stumbling back.

"Not a very good sign," Lorne mumbled, fanning his face. I waved my hand in front of my face to get rid of the smell; it was rotting corpse smell. "Sumner, why don't you take the lead?" Lorne offered as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah, you've got the most experience with Wraith and stuff," Reed muttered to me. I smacked him lightly on the chest as I headed into the outpost. I flicked on my flashlight on my p-90 as I shined it around the long corridor. Reed and Harris followed after with Lorne bringing up the rear.

Walking down the corridor was disgusting; the walls were made of the same organic material that we found in the crashed dart ship. The smell in here was slowly becoming unbearable; I could hear Reed complaining under his breath about it, with Harris telling him to shut up every couple of minutes.

When we came to the first T-junction we found our first body. It wasn't Wraith but it was just bones, this one had been here a long time. Not far from that was a dead Wraith body, it had also been decomposing for a long time. The smell coming off him made Reed vomit. Lorne told him to compose himself as we continued on.

We came to another split as we stopped; Lorne quickly cracked a glow stick and dropped it on the floor.

"We'll cover more ground if we split up. Harris and I will go down here. Sumner and Reed you go down there. Stay in radio contact and we'll meet back here in an hour." Lorne ordered as we all nodded and went our separate ways.

Reed and I walked in silence, we passed by a few empty rooms, we didn't stay long, just ducking our heads in to see what was in there. We found three more bodies, two Wraiths and one not Wraith; all were bones like the others.

"Are you as creeped out as I am?" Reed hissed at me after fifteen minutes.

"I've seen my fair share of dead Wraith, it never gets old," I muttered back to him.

"No, I mean about why they're dead. Isn't it strange to see so many dead Wraiths here? And the fact that there are human people here too," Reed said. It was a bit strange, but this place was empty.

"It was probably a fight or something, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," I said, trying to reassure him.

We passed by another room; I ducked my head in and did a double take.

"Reed!" I called as I ran in.

"What is it?" He yelled after me. I ran further into the room, seeing that it was like a control room, there were various consoles, and none had power though. I went to the center console and dropped to my knees. "Is that…" Reed drifted off as I picked up the weapon. It was familiar to me.

"A Genii weapon," I muttered as I stared at it. Something caught my eye, just behind one of the consoles. I walked over to it as I frowned. "Oh my God," I muttered. Reed came up next to me.

"Holy shit!"

Before us lay a body, it wasn't like the others, this one was fresh. And when I say fresh, I mean barely a few days old. It was a man, with a grotesque handprint on his chest and withered skin. He wasn't dressed like a normal Genii, he seemed to have simple clothes on rather then the puke green uniform of them.

"He's barely two days dead," Reed said to me as I nodded, then it hit me, there was a Wraith still alive. I hit my radio.

"Lorne, come in."

" _What's up?"_

"Have you seen any Wraith bodies around here that look—fresh?" I asked, looking at Reed. There was a pause.

" _I was just about to radio you, we found two bodies of Wraith and one human, and they look barely three days old. We found a Genii weapon with the human."_

"Same here, I'm going to get the data device if it's still here then I suggest we get the hell out of dodge," I told him.

" _Affirmative, we'll rendezvous at the meeting point, Lorne out."_ The radio went silent. I turned to the main console as I opened it up and dug through the gross web of organic material.

"It's not here," I told Reed after a minute of digging. Reed looked around nervously.

"Let's get out of here, this place is creeping me out," he told me as I nodded and stood back up and brushed myself down.

Reed and I made it back to the meeting point before Lorne did; we waited around five minutes before he showed up.

"The data device is gone," I told Lorne when he emerged from the darkness.

"Probably the people who killed the Wraith took it," Harris said as Lorne and I nodded.

"Let's get out of here before more show up," Lorne ordered. I took point again as the other followed behind as we all got the hell out of dodge.

* * *

We arrived back on Atlantis; I landed the jumper back up in the bay as the four of us made our way to the briefing room. I sat on the table as Lorne leaned on the one opposite me. Reed and Harris both took seats behind me as I watched Elizabeth walk into the room.

"Any information?" She asked, taking a seat near Lorne.

"Well out Intel on the place being deserted was wrong," Lorne said, as Elizabeth looked shocked.

"You ran into the Wraith?"

"Not quite," Reed muttered, out of the corner of my eye I saw him shudder from the memory of the corpses.

"We found a lot of dead bodies," I said to her, shifting the attention to me, "some Wraith, some not. They'd been there for a long time."

"And we saw four recently killed. Two Wraith and two human, look's like they'd only been dead a few days at most," Lorne explained to her.

"The human bodies also had Genii weaponry, but not their attire. The data device from the outpost was also gone," I added in. Elizabeth clasped her hands together.

"Well we know the Genii like to obtain the data devices, maybe some of their forces went undercover?" She offered as I frowned and shook my head.

"Why bother? Wraith don't care if they're Genii or not," I said as she pursed her lips and nodded in agreement.

"There was something else," Lorne said suddenly, I frowned at him, as did Elizabeth.

"What?" I asked him. Lorne looked at me anxiously and then at Elizabeth.

"I didn't want to say anything on the planet but…I couldn't know for sure but the two Wraith's that I came across had large incisions on their right arm. From what I remember the Wraith enzyme sac is located there."

 _Ford…_

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" I snapped at Lorne. Lorne and Elizabeth both looked at me and then at each other. "Ford was there, we have to go back to the planet!" I exclaimed.

"We can't do that," Elizabeth said. I frowned at her.

"Why not? We've heard nothing about him this entire time, now we actually have a lead on him, we have to go back," I argued.

"You said yourself that there were fresh bodies on that planet, there could still be Wraith there or those people who stole the data device. I wont compromise this base on a lead that may or may not be Lieutenant Ford."

"That's why we need to go back and find out!"

"Enough!" Elizabeth snapped. I clamped my mouth shut as she stared me down. "I know what he means to you, trust me, I do. But you need to understand where I'm coming from," she said calmly. I pressed my lips into a firm line and looked away from her piercing gaze. She finally turned back to Lorne. "You made the right decision," she told him as Lorne nodded his thanks to her. "You're all dismissed." After she left the room I turned to look at Lorne, he wasn't meeting my gaze as I muttered.

"I guess I should just give up on anyone trying to help find him."

I stormed out of the room after that.

* * *

It was early in the morning; Nathan and I were in the gym together as we sparred. I was getting out all of my frustration from the previous day with Lorne. I swung high, aiming for Nathan's head as he jumped back, I swung again as he blocked it, I kicked my leg into his side as he gasped, he let his guard down as I punched him in the stomach, turning my back on him I gripped his arm and threw him over my body. He let out a surprised cry as his back hit the mat painfully. I came around and held the practice knife to his throat.

"I win, again," I said triumphantly to him with a smirk. Nathan grinned, his dark eyes sparkling as I pulled the knife away and tucked it into the band on my sweatpants. Nathan held out his hand for me to help him up as I tugged him up.

"You're on top of your game again," he stated, rubbing his side where I had kicked him. I crossed my arms and stood up taller.

"I've got a lot of pent up anger at the moment," I chuckled as I walked over to my towel and wiped off the sweat from my bare stomach and arms. Nathan still stood in the center of the room as I watched him watch me. I saw a lustful look come over his face as I felt my cheeks heat up from his obvious wanting.

"H-how about one more round?" I stammered out, walking back to him. Before he could reply the gym door opened and Teyla walked in. She smiled when she saw me.

"Mia, Sergeant Fields," she greeted us as Nathan nodded to her. He looked over at me.

"I'm going to go and get some ice for my stomach, spar with Teyla," he told me as he continued to rub his side. He walked behind me to grab his own towel, as he was walking back he bent down and quickly pressed a hard kiss to my lips. It was unexpected and left me a tad breathless from surprise and at the same time all it felt like was a normal kiss. It didn't make my knees weak or make me feel warm and safe inside. It was just a kiss. Nathan left the room and I awkwardly made eye contact with Teyla. She was giving me a side smirk as she set her things down beside mine.

"I had heard the rumor but I wasn't sure if it was true," Teyla remarked as she took out her bantos sticks. I felt my stomach drop.

"What rumor?" I asked stupidly. Teyla twirled the sticks around in her hands.

"That you were in a relationship with Sergeant Fields."

"We aren't like boyfriend and girlfriend, just seeing each other," I explained. Teyla frowned in confusion.

"Is there a difference?"

"Yeah, it's like we're together but we haven't confirmed with the other if we're in a relationship."

"I still don't understand," Teyla said, shaking her head at me. I waved her off.

"It's an Earth thing."

"Ah," she said with a smile. "Do you wish to spar?" She asked as I nodded. I took out the other pair of sticks from her bag. I walked to the center of the room and clapped them together a few times. Teyla's large grin made me happy, we hadn't sparred together in a long time.

Teyla lunged for me as I moved out of the way, our sticks clashing together as I blocked and twirled and parried her blows. I could feel the sweat dripping down my skin as I lunged towards her, putting her on the offensive, she blocked my blows and I managed to hit her on the shoulder as she winced, it was a short lived victory as she managed to hit me on the back of my knee as I hissed in pain. I spun around, hoping to catch her off guard as she ducked and smacked me on the wrist, making me drop one of the sticks, and then I tight to defend myself with only one as she kept on baring down on me. I knew I was going to lose from the moment she hit the bantos stick out of my hand, she hit the inside of my arm away as she circled behind and had me in a headlock in three seconds flat. I was sour because I had lost to Teyla but I knew I had it coming, I wasn't training like I used to, but I could still kick Nathan's ass which is still a good sign. Teyla released me as I wiped the sweat off me once more.

"It's good to get my ass kicked sometimes, brings down my ego a few notches," I remarked to her as Teyla stretched out her muscles. She laughed.

"We wouldn't want you turning out like Rodney now, would we?"

"Definitely not," I said sarcastically as I took a drink from my bottle. I offered it to Teyla as she drunk and took a seat next to me.

"Have you...given any thought to returning to the team?" She suddenly asked, catching me off guard. I froze on the spot; I could feel the anxiousness melting off Teyla as I finally turned my gaze to her. She wasn't looking at me but at something on the ground as I wiped my face on the towel.

"I'm happy where I am," I said softly, not truly meaning it. Of course I missed going on missions with Teyla and even Rodney; I missed our witty banter. And I even missed the bickering that John and I would have over situations, most of all I missed Ford.

"I am sorry, I understand," Teyla apologized as I reached out to touch her shoulder.

"I do miss you guys, but it's just better this way. I'm sorry I didn't tell you beforehand, the whole swapping happened so fast, you get why I had to though, don't you?" I asked her as she nodded.

"Colonel Sheppard told me that it's hard for you to be around Ronon while Aiden is still missing. You feel as though he took his place?" She finished with a question as I nodded.

"It's silly, I know. I just can't be on that team without Ford; it was us five for the first year, going on missions. And now even Lorne and Elizabeth want me to give up on ever finding him again."

"It is not silly, Mia. You miss him a great deal; you would feel his disappearance harder then anyone else on this base. I am glad you are happy, I guess it's just me but I am finding it difficult being—"

"—Being the only girl on the team," I finished for her, knowing where she was going with the conversation. Teyla and I both laughed together.

* * *

We sat talking for a good hour before she left, telling me about their recent mission to a planet where a man had raised a young Wraith girl as his daughter, I was severely creeped out at the fact. But that wasn't the worst part, this Wraith called Ellia had taken Carson's retrovirus drug that he had told me about once before, it was supposedly able to turn Wraith's back into humans again but it had the reverse effect on her, turning her into some crazy mutant Wraith Hybrid which attacked her foster father, killing him, and attacking the rest of the team. She had attacked John by trying to feed on him but Ronon had saved him just in time.

I was packing up my things when I heard the door open; I glanced up and felt my heart skip a beat when John entered the room. He didn't look too surprised to see me here, which was to be expected as I was here every day. I watched him walk into the center of the room as I frowned. Something about him was off; he was walking differently, holding himself differently. I shook my head, which was ridiculous; he looked like he did everyday.

I saw his eyes rake up and down my exposed body, his eyes lingering on my exposed cleavage, as I suddenly felt very self-conscious in this room. I met his gaze and I felt my brows furrow slightly. His eyes looked different, not as in a different colour but the way he stared was different. I could feel the tension in the room from both of us being in here alone so I stood up, grabbing my things I headed for the door.

"Spar with me," I heard him speak as I froze. I turned my body to face him.

"Why? Not a few days ago you wanted nothing to do with me," I snapped at him as I saw him pick up a pair of bantos sticks.

"Spar with me," he repeated, causing me to frown, what the hell was wrong with him?

"No." I said firmly as I headed for the door again. It only took two seconds before I felt his hand grip my upper arm tightly, not enough to hurt but it was a firm grip. He spun me around as I frowned up at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I growled at him, he was close to me, so close that I could feel his warm body temperature. "You can't blow up on me like you did and then expect me to spar with you!" John continued to stare at me, he wasn't showing much emotion but I could see his eyes darting to and fro over my face.

"Just do it," he muttered as I finally lost it.

"Fine!" I barked. I ripped my arm out of his grasp as I threw my bag down on the floor as I took out another pair of bantos sticks and walked into the middle of the room. John followed me and as I turned and went into a defensive stance I saw the knowing smirk on his face, the one he always used when he was being cheeky or had finally gotten his way.

I was a bit excited at the fact that we were going to be sparring together; he made me so mad sometimes so I was excited to kick his ass. Bantos sticks weren't exactly his forte so I was still a little confused as to why he would've chosen the one thing he knew he wouldn't be able to beat me on.

John lunged, almost catching me off guard as he started to advance on me. Our bantos sticks hitting together loudly it sounded like thunder in the distance. He was keeping me on my toes as I bobbed and weaved away from his attacks. Once again I could feel the sweat pooling down my back and chest as I ducked from a nasty looking swipe. I pulled back, catching my breath, as John looked barely fazed. This was new, normally I would have him beat by now, but he hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Not bad, huh?" He said with his boy charm smirk. This caused my frown to deepen as I lunged at him this time. With my anger fueling me I attacked him with everything I had, John blocked everything I sent to him with ease, which caused me to hit harder and faster. With a duck he dodged my last hit and walked back a bit.

"You've been practicing," I stated to him. I watched him toss one of the sticks to the side of the room.

"Not really," he muttered as he turned back to face me. He held his free hand behind his back as waited for me to attack. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from lashing out with my tongue. I needed to win this spar; he was being too cocky for his own good. With that thought in mind I attacked again, and to my amazement he was holding his own with the one bantos. I couldn't let this fact dwell for too long as I tried with all my might to get around him and deliver a painful blow. I could feel my arms starting to shake from the exertion and my breath was becoming more ragged with each inhale and exhale. Then to my surprise John suddenly changed the direction and put me on the defensive, in a split second he had hit both of my bantos sticks out of my hands as he charged at me and had me pinned to the wall. I gasped in shock as I felt my breath leave me as my back slammed into the wall. He pressed his body against mine, as his face was inches from mine. His hazel gaze bore into mine as he held me against the wall for God knows how long. All I could think about was how good it felt to feel his chest against mine, both of us panting and our gazes locked. Time no longer held any meaning to me; I thought I would never be in a position like this with him ever again.

"John…" I whispered his name as I saw his eyes flick down to my lips. Fucking hell I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted him to kiss me so bad right now. In the back of my mind I thought about Nathan, how right now I shouldn't be doing this with John. I needed to push John away from me and walk away, but I couldn't force myself to do it. I was locked in place physically and emotionally.

John dropped his bantos sticks as he cupped my face between his hands as he crashed his lips against mine. I felt whole again, his lips moved against mine as I could feel the warmth spreading through my being, I lost myself in the kiss as his hands continued to grip my face as my hands sought out his skin. I ran my hands through his hair as his lips continued to ravish mine, I could feel them bruising from the force of his kiss as his lips moved over my jaw and to my neck as he began to kiss and nip my sensitive skin there. His hands roamed over my body, igniting the cold parts of me once more, my bare skin was on fire as he caressed my stomach and trailed them around my back and down to my butt. The thought of someone walking in on us was pushed to the far reaches of my mind as I felt John dig his fingers into my cheeks. I tilted my head back onto the wall, loving the feeling of his hands touching me again.

"You smell so good," I heard him whisper in between kisses. I didn't find it odd at all what he said, if anything it tuned me on even more. I could feel the familiar knot building in my nether regions.

"John," I moaned as he nipped at the sensitive skin over my breast. I could feel him start to rock his lower body against mine, his hard member rubbing over my moist core as I dug my fingers into his back.

" _Colonel Sheppard please report to the infirmary!_ " I barely heard Carson's voice register over the comms system.

John kissed me on the mouth hard again, I felt one of his hands move from my butt to my front as he dipped his hand into my sweatpants, he trailed a finger over my wet panties as I gasped against his mouth. His tongue delved into the warm confines of my mouth as I could feel my body responding to his touch. It felt like we had never been apart. My body moved in time with his fingers, his chest pressed on mine, pushing me against the wall with every rock as I moaned into his mouth.

"Does Nathan make you feel like this?" I heard him mutter against my mouth as I felt like someone had just poured a bucket of ice-cold water down my back. John continued his attack on my mouth and body as my mind was sent reeling. What the hell was I doing? John mentioning Nathan's name made me feel like a worthless piece of shit. Why was I a decent human being? Well I wouldn't count allowing myself to be felt up and kissed by my ex-boyfriend a decent human being but I couldn't let this continue. It wasn't fair to Nathan and it wasn't fair to John. I pushed against his shoulders.

"John…wait," I said, not very convincingly as I turned my head away from him, he continued to kiss my neck as I could feel him kiss and nip the sensitive spot below my ear. His hand down my pants continued to stroke and tease my center as I forced away the pleasure that I was feeling and pushed on his shoulders.

"Stop," I told him loudly. He jerked his head away; he removed his body and limbs from around mine as he stumbled back from me. I brushed my loose hair away from my face as I watched him look around for a few seconds, like he had forgotten where he was and what he had just been doing to me. I was severely confused. One minute he was telling me that he wouldn't give me the time of day and wanted nothing to do with me and now he was practically attacking me. I felt like a piece of shit for letting it go as far as it did. I had basically cheated on Nathan, even though we weren't officially dating I knew he thought we were, and I had gone behind his back and made out with John.

"Mia…" John said, I could hear the confusion in his voice as I turned my face away from him.

"They want you in the infirmary," I told him, not meeting his gaze. He didn't say anything as I heard him leave. Once I knew he was gone I held my head in my hands as I slowly slid down the wall until I hugged my knees to my chest and thought about what the hell I had just done.

I felt like the worst person in the entire world, I couldn't believe what had happened between John and I had been real, and as much as I tried to fight it, I had enjoyed it. I had enjoyed it so much that I couldn't stop thinking about him. I cursed myself out numerous times, telling myself that it was just a heat of the moment thing, he'd go back to hating me after today once he saw Nathan and I together.

There was also the fact that I had willingly made out with another man while I was seeing Nathan. I couldn't exactly tell him either as it would bring up the big question as to whom and I did not want to go down that road. If Nathan was a typical male species and I'm guessing he was, the first thing he would do would be to confront said male and demand answers, and that did not bode well for John and I.

* * *

John was infected with the Wraith retrovirus, that's what Lorne had just told me when he had found me walking through the corridors. He was mutating into a creature similar to the Iratus bug that had almost killed him last year. I stood facing Lorne, watching his mouth move but I wasn't hearing anything, all I could hear was a loud ringing in my ears as my brain was trying to process everything. What the hell was going on? Was John going to die? Is there anyway to save him from this thing? Lorne said that it was spreading fast and we only had about thirty hours before we'd loose him completely. I focused back on Lorne; he was staring at me, waiting for me to answer him from the question he had probably just asked me.

"What?" I asked.

"I said we're heading out to a planet we think has the bugs on it, we're leaving in an hour," he told me as I nodded.

"Ok," I said, nodding my head as Lorne ducked passed me. I waited for him to disappear from my sight before I turned on my heel and walked to the living quarters.

I arrived outside of John's room, I saw the Marine posted at his door as I nodded to him. The Marine opened the door for me as I stepped into the dark room, I glanced around the room, I felt a chill come over me as I crossed my arms over my chest. The door shut behind me with a resonating _click_ as I spoke, "John?" I called out to him. He was sitting on his bed with his back to me; he was hunched over and didn't acknowledge that he had heard me. "I came to see you," I told him as I stepped closer.

"Don't," he growled out. I saw his head twitch to the side when he heard my footstep.

"Why?" I asked him, standing my ground.

"I don't want to hurt you," came his reply. I felt the fear wash over me for a second before I forced it away. This was John; he wouldn't hurt me.

"You wont hurt me," I said quietly to him as I looked down at the ground. I heard his clothes rustle and before I knew it he was standing in front of me. I gasped in fright as I stumbled back. He was changing, Lorne had said as much but I was shocked as to how much. I had seen him barely six hours ago and he looked perfectly fine. The right side of his neck had turned into a grey-ish scale colour, some had seeped up to his cheek and even in the darkness of his room I could see that his right eye was changing from the brilliant hazel to a yellowed colour. I looked down at his right arm; his hand was claw like and the same colour. His nails were long and sharp and dangerous; he looked dangerous.

"I can smell your fear," he hissed as I stared him down, I forced myself not to look away from his piercing gaze.

"John—"

"You need to leave," he cut me off as I pressed my lips into a firm line.

"No, I won't leave you alone," I said defiantly as I saw something like a snarl come over his face. I was suddenly gripped by my shoulders by his hands; I winced slightly from the pain of his grip but continued to stare at him.

"I can't control myself for much longer."

"What do you mean?" I asked him, I felt his grip tighten as the tips of his sharp claws dug into my jacket.

"It means that if you don't get out of here soon I'm going to throw you down on the floor and screw you until you scream for help." I felt like someone had just dragged their nails down my back. My eyes widened in fear as I managed to pull myself out of his grip, I backed up from him as I watched his expression. His eyes were hungry and full of lust and I could tell that he was doing everything he could to try and keep himself under control.

"John I want to help you, just tell me how!" I said desperately. He suddenly gripped his head and hunched over, he groaned in pain. "John!" I called his name. His head snapped up as I gasped when I saw that his right eye had completely changed to a cat like yellow with a black slit.

"Get out, Mia, now." He said warningly. His tone was different from before. It had changed, he was desperate and he truly thought that he was going to hurt me. "Help me by not coming back until all of this is over." He said as I felt the tears prick at the corner of my eyes. I was rooted to the spot, I needed to leave and run but I couldn't find the strength. John was hurting and in pain and I couldn't do anything to help. "Go!" He bellowed, shocking me out of my trance as I turned and ran to the door sensor. As I waved my hand over it I turned to look at him one last time, he was bracing himself against the pillar in his room, staring at me intently and forcing himself not to chase after me. When the door opened I left quickly, I didn't pay any attention to the Marine there, as I didn't want him to see me cry.

* * *

We walked in single file through the dense forest on the planet, I was bringing up the rear behind Walker and Stevens with Lorne, Carson, Rodney, Teyla and to my digress Ronon. I hadn't been able to keep the frown off of my face the entire trip here and I knew that the other people here could feel the hostile vibes coming off of me. Ronon had point as I watched him scan the ground every so often then change our direction. I pressed my lips into a firm line as Lorne hurried up to him and Rodney who were at the very front of the line.

"So, what are we looking for?" Lorne asked Rodney as they ducked under a low hanging branch.

"According to the database, probably a cave…cool, damp and dark, which I translate; scary, awful, bad," Rodney's words brought a smile to my face as I remembered all the times that we bickered like this on missions.

"They wouldn't want their nests out in the open. Cave keeps the eggs away from the predators," Ronon grunted from up ahead.

"I always figured they were the predators," Rodney mused.

"I guarantee there's something worse out here," Ronon replied as I rolled my eyes. Of course he did, because he was Mr-Know-It-All.

"Really?" Rodney asked nervously.

"They've got to feed on something."

"Thank you, thank you for that!" Rodney cried out sarcastically. He was probably having mental images of horrible creatures feasting on his flesh right now.

"We're heading for a mountain range that starts about a mile up this way. That's probably our best bet for a cave," Lorne called out to us.

"Agreed," Carson said.

"Ok, let's pick up the pace!" Lorne ordered as we headed off on a quick jog.

It took us around half an hour to find the cave, it was large and ominous looking as I stood off to the side of it; Rodney was next to me as he muttered under his breath about the bugs. Ronon is kneeling by the mouth of the cave as he examines some orange looking droppings.

"You think this is it?" Lorne asked us all.

"It certainly smells like something is living in there," Carson said with disgust.

"Yeah, or dying," Rodney emphasized to us as I smirked at him.

"I cannot see that far into the cave," Teyla said as she looked around the entrance. Ronon picks up the orange dropping and holds it to his nose and sniffs it.

"Oh, well that is disgusting!" Rodney exclaims.

"They're in there," Ronon states as he flicks it off his fingers.

"And you had to pick it up and smell it to figure it out?" Rodney bickers as I pull a grimace at how gross the action was. Ronon turns and glares at Rodney.

"To know it's recent," he snaps back.

"How recent?" Rodney asks nervously.

"So what's the plan?" Lorne asked us all, obviously annoyed at Rodney's antics.

"Well," Carson said as he wielded a strange looking bug catcher, "we go in there, we get some eggs, and then we come out," Carson said as I held in my laughter.

"Good plan," I said with a smirk.

"Ok," Lorne said, not very positively, "Ronon, Teyla you're on point with me. Walker, Stevens and Sumner you take our six. Docs just stay in the middle and try not to get bit, ok?" Lorne said as we all got into formation, all except for Rodney.

"Well, maybe someone should stay out here?" Rodney ask as he pointed to the spot that he was standing on.

"So that you're all alone when a dozen of them come stampeding out here?" Ronon barked at him.

"I'm in the middle," Rodney said quickly as he jumped into place.

"Let's do this," Ronon said as he flicked down his night vision goggles, I did the same.

"Who the hell put him in charge," I muttered under my breath as I did the same and followed after Carson.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed! See you next week!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Guest 64** \- They are both too stubborn for their own good, I'm not sure who would win, I'm guessing Mia in a battle of stubborness xD I'm glad you're excited for those episode cause I sure am!

 **thompsonmaria9** \- Lorne is becoming like an older big brother to her right now, so sweet! I know everyone misses them together, hopefully this little bump in the road might push them back together? Who knows ;)

 **Adela** \- She probably shouldn't have been so mean to him, but she's stubborn and so is John...

 **Claudi70** \- Poor John indeed, he's getting the short end of the stick in this right now, hopefully Mia will come to her senses soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

 **Natsuko26** \- Aw thank you so much! It was so hard for me to write these chapters with Mia being mad at him because I just love them together so much, they are a perfect couple together!

 **sheppardlover928** \- She's a loose cannon with no filter and doesn't really think things through and consequences. Poor Nathan is like the lamb heading off to the slaughter in this, especially now after their little incident in the gym, whatever will Mia do about this? Thank you so much!


	42. Emergence - Chapter 42

**Hey everyone! Thank you to everyone who is reading, reviewing and alerting to this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter as some amazing stuff happens!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks**

* * *

We walked slow and steady in the cave, my nerves were sky high right now as I looked in every crack and crevasse for any sign of movement. I could hear Rodney muttering up ahead as I heard the creepy sounds of jittering and chippering.

"Hear that?" Ronon called back to us as I shivered.

"Yes," Teyla confirmed.

"Looks like we got the right address," Lorne added as I coughed from the disgusting smell that came from the bugs. From a few feet in front of me I watch as Rodney zips up his jacket to the very top, covering his neck completely.

"You don' seriously think that's going to help, do you?" Carson hissed at Rodney.

"Yeah, when they see your neck before mine you wont think it's stupid," Rodney bit back as I nodded and did the same. Even though Carson was right it probably wouldn't do any good, it did bring piece of mind. Rodney and Carson both heard my zip as they turned to me. "See! She gets it," Rodney snapped as Carson shook his head.

"Where are these eggs supposed to be?" Teyla asked from behind Ronon.

"The database says they have a central nest. I'm hoping we'll know it when we see it," Carson said to her.

We continued on in the cave, walking another two hundred meters or so before we emerged into a large cavern. The smell was worse here and the noise that all of the bugs were making was almost deafening. Though my night vision goggles I could see hundreds or maybe thousands of the Iratus Bug covering the floor and walls.

"Good God!" Carson exclaims as he glances around the cavern, "I think this is it."

"You don't say?" I mutter as my gaze settles on three large egg sacks that are hanging from the ceiling in the center of the cavern.

"So how do we want to play this?" Lorne asks.

"They'll defend their young," Ronon adds.

"Maybe we should make a diversion?" Rodney offers as I scoff and look around at him in disbelief. I can see that the others are staring at him in the same manner.

"Are you volunteering?" Lorne asks him.

"I'll shut up," Rodney snaps.

"I do not believe we can get close enough to retrieve the eggs without these creatures attacking," Teyla said as she examined the cavern.

"I have this," Carson said as he held up his egg catcher, "but I need to get under that," he pointed at the closest egg sack. Carson motions to Rodney. "Hand me that water canister." Rodney does as he's told. "If there's one thing we know about these little buggers, it's that they hate salt water."

"How's that going to help?" Lorne asks skeptically.

"Just watch," Carson says as he goes to the edge of the swarm and starts chucking down water onto the floor. To my amazement the bugs scamper away from the water as Carson makes a path right under the closest egg sack. He comes back and sets the tank back down on the floor. He then zips up his jacket, which causes Rodney to scoff.

"See? Not so stupid!"

"Shut up," Carson said bitterly as he takes the egg catcher from Walker and starts to walk back along the path. As he get closer to the sack I can tell that the bugs are not happy about it, they start making as distinctive hissing sound and their chirping is more vocal.

"Doc?" Lorne says warningly as Carson looks over his shoulder, even from here I could see Carson shaking in fright.

"I've come this far," he says, with a quiver in his tone. Carson turns back and is about to reach out for the sack when to my horror I can see a bug lowering itself down behind Carson head.

"Heads up!" Ronon calls he shoots the bug, it lands in the middle of the cavern as everything happens so fast. The bugs release a sound close to something raking its nails down a chalkboard as Carson groans.

"Carson, run!" Teyla yells at the Doctor as I raise up my p-90 and start shooting off into the cavern. When Carson reached us I watch as Rodney, Teyla and Carson turn and run back through the cave. I was in the middle of turning when I saw one of the bugs leap off the wall nearest to me. I didn't even have time to scream as it lunged for my throat, I stumbled and fell to the floor and prepared to have it latch around my neck when it was hit by a red stunner and was obliterated. I could hear Lorne, Walker and Stevens firing off still as Ronon came into my view. He grabbed my vest as I was yanked to my feet and dragged through the cave.

"Let's go! Come on get out of here!" Lorne was shouting at all of us as Ronon continued to drag me along as we ran. I wanted to throw him off and tell him that I didn't need his help to run but I was still in shock from almost being devoured by one of those bugs. We reached the entrance as Ronon let go of my vest as I fell beside Teyla and held my throat tightly, just making sure that there was no bug there. "Walker! Stevens! Get the hell out of there!" I could hear Lorne yelling back into the cave. I hear two screams that chill me to my core as I stand and stare back into the cave. "Walker! Stevens! Do you copy?" Lorne called again, this time there was no response as I held my hand to my mouth. Lorne takes out a grenade from his vest as he pulls the pin. "Fire in the hole!" Lorne hollers as he turns and runs towards us. Teyla and I grip each other's arms as we run for the bushes together and dive near Rodney and Carson just as the explosion rocks the ground and mountain. I can feel the flames lapping close to us as I hold my hands over my head and pray to every God that we weren't about to die a horrible death. Ronon was the first to move as he aimed his gun towards the cave opening, Teyla and I slowly sat up as I brushed the soil and leaves off me.

"I think that stopped them," Ronon said as we all stared at the cave.

"We're not sticking around the find out. I'm pulling the plug on this mission. Let's get back to the gate," Lorne ordered as he brushed himself off with a frown.

"We can't give up!" Carson cried as he moved in front of Lorne.

"We just lost two men in there," Lorne argued, "so unless you can find another way to get those eggs out of there, we're done, understand? Let's go," Lorne said once again as he walked off. Carson and Rodney looks back at the cave with serious expression and follow after him. Teyla does also. Ronon lingers also as I find myself staring at the cave. We had failed John, we had one chance to save his life…and now...

I wanted to run back in there and just dig out the eggs myself, to hell with the bugs, but I knew it was suicide.

"Hey," I jumped when I heard Ronon call out to me; I turned, seeing him staring at me. I felt my insides churn, I had been so horrible to him, and he had saved my life. "Let's go," he said gruffly as I nodded. He turned his back to me and started walking. On instinct I ran up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Hey," he stopped and turned to look down at me, "Thank you." He didn't say anything but nodded slightly as I let him go and followed quietly behind him.

* * *

Teyla, Rodney, Ronon and myself were sitting in the mess hall on the balcony outside. After we had returned to Atlantis Carson had briefed Elizabeth on what had transpired on the planet and she had gone to tell John the bad news. Apparently he hadn't taken it too well and had then gone on a rampage through the city. I had led the Delta team through city but Teyla's Bravo team had beaten us too him, he attacked her team but Ronon had managed to stun him twice and knock him out. He was now in the infirmary in a coma and restrained with two guards. Ronon was directly across from me, leaning on the railing as I sat with my head in my hands with my knees drawn up against the table. Teyla and Rodney were lost in their own thoughts. Carson had said that we only had twenty-four hours until his time ran out and he'd be lost to us forever. I couldn't imagine what was going through his head right now, if he even knew what was happening to him.

I hear footsteps and glance up to see Elizabeth approach us at the table, "You guys are up late," she says.

"Can't you sleep either?" Rodney muttered sadly.

"Any progress?" Teyla asked her. Elizabeth looked down at her hands and then shook her head.

"No. He's still in a coma. At least he isn't in any pain," Elizabeth said with false positivity as I dropped my head back down.

"Maybe if I went alone, maybe—"

"It's not open for discussion," Elizabeth cut Ronon off as I slowly raised my head and looked at the Satedan. He was willing to risk his life for him?

"I'm not good at sitting around," Ronon continued as I continued to stare. Ronon had only known John for a month, give or take a few days, and yet he was asking to go back to the planet alone and try and save him? I felt my stomach flip again, I felt horrible, and I had treated Ronon horrible…and John.

"I understand," Elizabeth said to him. "Believe me, I appreciate how you feel. Look, we have closed down that section of the infirmary but if you feel the need to…" She pauses and I can see that she was holding herself back from becoming too emotional. "What I mean to say is, if you would like to have a private goodbye, you should probably do it soon." I felt the large lump in my throat and the tears as I turned my head and wiped them away quickly.

"Are we really there?" I heard Rodney ask.

"I think we might be," was Elizabeth's reply. There was silence between us for a few seconds.

" _Doctor Weir, I need to speak to you immediately,_ " I recognized Carson's voice in my radio as we all glanced at each other.

"What is it?"

" _Meet me in your office. I think I have an idea,"_ I could hear the desperate tone in Carson's voice as the four of us sprang up from our positions and hurried to the control room.

Carson met us by the stairs and already his mouth was moving, "I'm sorry, it just came to me. The fact that his mutation has progressed so far as it has may be his salvation," Carson said as we all walked into her office.

"Explain that," Elizabeth said to him.

"His sweat glands are actually producing trace amounts of their signature pheromone."

"And?" Elizabeth pressed.

"When we were in the cave, those bugs knew we didn't belong there, so they didn't really fancy us getting close to their nest," Carson explained.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Rodney interrupted as I looked at him, "I see where you're going with this. If we can artificially create the pheromone, it might be able to confuse them enough to leave us alone."

"Aye, that would work," Carson agreed.

"Well, that's an excellent plan, Carson!" Rodney said triumphantly with a grin.

"Aye, I wish it was," Carson said sadly, plummeting my mood right back down.

"You can't do that in time," Ronon stated. Carson shook his head.

"No, it would take days," he admitted.

"But you said Sheppard only had twenty-four hours before the damage the retrovirus was causing him would be irreparable," Elizabeth said in confusion.

"Exactly," Carson said, causing the lot of us to furrow our brows at him.

"Well, then that's a terrible plan, Carson!" Rodney exclaimed.

"There's only one person on this base that wouldn't need the artificial pheromone," Carson said. I saw the realization come across everyone's faces.

"Sheppard?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"He could walk right in that cave and those bugs wouldn't pay him any mind," Carson said.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, but Colonel Sheppard's not feeling very well," Rodney said sarcastically as he crossed his arms.

"He stopped taking the inhibitor we were administering. It was able to keep him lucid."

"I thought its effectiveness had worn off?" Elizabeth pried.

"True. But I believe if we give him another massive dose, he may be clear-headed enough to complete the mission before we lose him completely," said Carson.

"Yeah, but wont giving him that much inhibitor, like…" Rodney trailed off as he met Carson's gaze.

"Kill him? Yes, it's a definite possibility. Even if I knew it was for certain, I'd be tempted to offer him one last hour of lucidity," Carson looks over at Elizabeth, waiting for her answer. She looks pensive as she thinks for a few seconds.

"Do it," she said to Carson, she turns and looks at Teyla, "Gear up, take him as far as the cave." Teyla nods as Ronon follows her out of the room, Rodney hot on their heels. Carson and Elizabeth jog out of the room and down to the infirmary.

I was standing on the balcony overlooking the control room. Teyla, Rodney and Ronon were geared up, waiting for Elizabeth and Carson to come with John. Chuck had just finished dialing the gate as I watched Rodney and Ronon talk about something quickly before Elizabeth, John and Carson appear in the room. John was garbed in a long cloak that covered up his whole body and face so I couldn't even see his face. He headed straight for the gate as I watched Rodney's smile drop off his face when he saw him.

"Alright!" Carson called out to them all, "we don't have a lot of time." The five of them went through the gate as I watched Elizabeth stare into the wormhole for a couple of minutes before she turned. Her gaze rose until she saw me staring as she ascended the stairs and came to stand next to me.

"You didn't want to go?" She asked me as I shrugged.

"They have everything under control," I told her as I leaned my back against the railing. I heard her sigh.

"You know," she said as I glanced at her, "Just because you don't go on missions with them anymore, doesn't mean they still aren't your team." She said softly, she reached out and grasped my arm gently, reassuring me as she walked off back to her office. I watched her leave as I pondered her words.

* * *

The team had returned with a plentiful supply of Iratus bug eggs and Carson had gotten to work immediately on working on the antidote for John, that was one week ago. I hadn't gone to see John in the infirmary, I knew that he was safe and being cared for so there was no need. I spent my time in the gym and Lorne and our team had gone on two missions in the week, so I didn't have time to think about John, or Nathan for that matter.

"I still think you should go get that checked out by Beckett," Lorne said to me as we dropped off our gear in the armory. While on the planet we had encountered a pretty Neanderthal type culture, they communicated with grunts and threw spears and rocks. They kind of reminded me of the Flintstones. Needless to say they hadn't welcomed us with open arms and we had high tailed it out of there. Not before one of them had thrown a spear that had grazed my arm. It had stopped bleeding now but it did look like it needed stitches. I didn't want to admit that the reason I didn't want to go to the infirmary was because I knew John was still in there.

"It's just a scratch," I said to Lorne. He frowned at me.

"You don't know if they did something to their weapons, I'd feel a lot better if you went."

"I feel fine!" I argued to him with a smile.

"Do I need to order you there?" Lorne said threateningly as I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, I'll go, happy?" I snapped at him as Lorne grinned and patted me on my good shoulder.

"Very, see you later, Mia," he said to me as he went in the opposite direction. I sighed and looked at my arm, it was still very sore and weeping as I looked at it from underneath the bandage. I cursed Lorne in my head as I spun on my heel and headed for the infirmary.

I walked in, smelling the disinfectant and other strong medical supplies as I beeline it to Carson who was sitting at his desk.

"Afternoon, Carson," I called cheerfully as the Scottish doctor turned in his chair and saw me; he smiled his charming smile and then noticed my injury.

"Afternoon, lass, what have you done now?" He rose from his chair and motioned me to the nearest bed as I hopped up on it.

"Evil Flintstones," I said to him as he frowned and chuckled at my description. He snapped on gloves and removed the bandage. "Apparently they didn't like my rendition of _yabba-dabba-do_." Carson was chuckling as he cleared the wound out as I winced. My gaze landed on the curtained bed at the end of the infirmary, a nurse just walked out and as she moved the curtain back into place I got a quick glimpse of his lower body in the bed, one of his hands were by his side and it looked remarkably human.

"I don't think they used any hidden nasty's in their weapons, but I'll take a blood sample just in case," Carson said. He numbed the area as he used the special glue and sealed my wound shut. I bit down on my fist to stop myself from screaming in pain. I didn't know which one I liked better, glue or stitches? After he was done he went to get his utensils ready to take my blood as I waited patiently for him. My arm was throbbing but I shook it off as my gaze landed back on the curtains obscuring John. Carson walked back to me.

"How is he?" I asked him quietly, not wanting John to hear. Carson looked around in the direction of John then back to me.

"He's doing well, most of the transformation has reversed itself, I've been keeping him sedated most of the time to help ease the transition but he should be out of here within the next week."

"That's good," I muttered as Carson inserted the needle. I watched as my blood pooled into the small vial. He removed it and taped up the little puncture wound and also my larger wound.

"All done, my love. You know the drill, no heavy lifting or fighting with that arm for a few days."

"I know," I said with a grin as Carson patted my cheek gently.

"Then you are good to go, you can go say hi to the Colonel if you want, he should be awake," Carson said to me as he took my vial and headed off into one of the adjourning rooms. I bit my bottom lip as I hopped off the bed, I didn't want to go and see John, but Carson had just spoken so loudly that he would've heard me. So with a heavy sigh I walked to his bed.

I poked my head in, wanting to see if he was actually awake before I went in. He was asleep. This was a better scenario for me as I didn't actually have to talk to him now, I pushed the curtain away and stepped in, I walked to his left side as I glanced up and down his body. He was mostly back to normal except for his right arm which still had a grey-ish tinge to his skin. His face looked peaceful as he continued to breath in and out gently; around his jaw line his beard had begun to grow in the week he hadn't been able to shave it. I knew he hated having a beard, he said it made him look older and a lot more like his brother. On his bedside table was his _War and Peace_ with a bookmark near the center of it. I smirked, he had been reading that book for over a year now and hadn't even finished it yet. I looked down at his hand closest to me, moving on instinct I reached out and held onto it gently with my own, he didn't react to my touch as I smiled. His hand was warm and familiar, I took a quick look over my shoulder to see that the curtain was fully closed; I couldn't hear anyone around either. Without really thinking about anything, I was just moving, with my other hand I reached out and ran my fingers through the front of his spikey hair, I trailed my fingers down the side of his face, feeling the warm and _alive_ skin under my fingertips.

We had been so close to loosing him, I seriously thought that he'd be a bug forever but he had pulled through and he had saved himself. My fingers brushed over his cheek as I caressed his cheek with the back of my hand. I could feel the intense warm feeling flow through my body at just the briefest of touches.

I pulled away when I saw his mouth twitch at the corner as his grip on my hand tightened for a split second as I yanked my hand away and shoved both of my hands into my pockets.

I felt my eyes widen as I felt the paper in my pocket as I gripped it and pulled it out, staring at it intently. It was the photo that he had dropped a few weeks ago when we had our fight on the South Pier. I had kept it on me this entire time as I unfolded it and stared at it, it brought a smile to my face. I had no idea how he had gotten this picture but this was John Sheppard, his always did things to surprise me.

The photo itself was of us, back on Earth. It was when we had both been awarded our new ranks and medals, we were standing in the gate room of the SGC, our hands were shaking as we beamed at each other. I remembered it clearly, I had congratulated him and he was doing the same to me. From the outside it looked like two friends shaking hands, happy for the other; but on the inside, we were both brimming with happiness and love for the other. What made it more special was that John wasn't doing his signature smirk that he normally did with everyone, he was actually grinning, teeth and all.

John stirred beside me, I felt my heart beat race as I stood with the photo still in my hands. I felt horrible about keeping it; after all, it was his. I couldn't exactly leave it on his nightstand as someone might see it and wonder why he had a picture of us. Instead I opened up his book to where he had stopped reading and slipped it in quietly, I shut it back up as I glanced at John. He was slowly waking up as I turned and slipped out from the area quietly and quickly, I didn't look over my shoulder to see if he had awoken or not.

* * *

The next week passed slowly, I hadn't been training in the gym like I normally did because of my arm injury, so I spent my time running extra and hanging out with Nathan. Even though he was staring to get on my nerves slightly. Honestly there was only so much one person could talk about themselves. Not Nathan. And much to his disappointment I hadn't let him get passed more then clothed fondling, I wasn't ready to take the next step with him, and I knew why, but I was not going to admit it to myself. We'd have a few heavy make out sessions and he would always try to weave his way into my pants but I always had an excuse to not, that just made him try even harder…no pun intended.

I was lacing up my runners in preparation for my morning run, I pulled my hair back into a tight ponytail. I stood up and stretched out my limbs. My team and I had our monthly check up with the kids on M7G-677 today and I was kind of excited. I loved seeing Keras and the young children, they always knew how to brighten my day and I knew that Keras' wife was going along six months now in her pregnancy.

I halted outside of the South Pier door as I collected my thoughts and evened out my breathing, I swiped my hand over the sensor as I stepped out into the chilly air and froze in my tracks. John was standing a few feet away from me, facing me with his hands in his pockets.

"Hi," I said slowly. He smiled for a second before it dropped off his face. He was wearing his uniform again even at this time of morning. Behind him sky was merging into the wonderful pre-dawn colors.

"Hi," he replied as I walked passed him and went to the railing and stretched out my legs.

"How're you feeling?" I asked him as he came and stood a few feet away from me, leaning on the rails.

"Like myself again, thankfully," he said with a slight chuckle as I faced him. He was gripping the railing so hard that his knuckles were turning white, he was nervous about something, I could tell. He cleared his throat. "So, I've been sitting in that damned infirmary for a couple of weeks now," he said, he continued to stare out to sea and not look at me while he spoke. "And things have been coming back to me, things that I may have said or…done to certain people." I turned my face away from him; he was talking about what had happened in the gym. I bit my lip nervously. "What I mean is, I'm sorry for what happened." He apologized as I rubbed my neck. This conversation was so awkward right now, but all I could think about was what happened between us. It had felt so right and natural, even if he was not clear headed at the time, my body responded to him in a way that Nathan could only dream about.

"It's ok," I said quietly, "I get it, the retrovirus messed with your head, the good thing is that you're all better," I said as I turned and gave him a smile. John finally turned his face to look at me. His hazel eyes scanned over my face for something but he quickly turned away. I glanced down at his hands still gripping the railing, he wasn't holding it as tightly as before but they still had a tense grip. Without thinking about it too much I reached out, like I had done in the infirmary and placed my hand on top of his gently. His head snapped down to stare as I gave him a reassuring squeeze. I saw him turn to look at me again but my gaze was cast on our hands. I could feel the warmth spread through my hand and the butterfly feeling I had in my stomach from his touch on my skin.

"I'm glad you're ok," I said to him. I didn't meet his gaze as I drew my hand away from his and turned my back and walked back to the door. I got a few steps before I felt John tug on my arm, spinning me back around to him; I felt his hands cup my face as he brought his face down to mine and kissed me.

This wasn't like the kiss in the gym that had been drug fueled, it wasn't hasty, and it wasn't full of lust and hunger. It was a simple kiss that made my head swoon and my knees weak. And everything seemed to click into place once more. It was like a door had opened in my chest and everything that I felt for John before came rushing back out.

I still loved him.

I loved him so much I could feel my heart aching for all of the horrible things I had said and done to him. I could feel the tears pricking at my closed lids as I thought about my feelings. This confirmed to me that I wasn't meant to be with Nathan, I didn't feel anything like this when I was with him. John pulled away slowly as his thumbs ran over my cheeks gently as I opened my eyes and met his hazel ones. We stared for half a minute as a million thoughts ran through my head; I wasn't able to comprehend all of them but the main one stood out to me. I had to break it off with Nathan; it wasn't fair to him. I didn't have any feelings for him and here I was kissing John while he probably has planned our next dinner or activity together.

"There's something I have to do," I whispered to John. Our faces were still inches apart as I saw him nod gently. I walked out of his reach as I gave him a longing look as I turned on my heel and left the Pier.

* * *

I arrived outside of Nathan's door as I waved my hand over the sensor, it chimed as I waited for a few seconds as the door opened and Nathan stood in front of me wearing a pair of boxers and a shirt.

"Hey," he said with a lazy grin. I forced a smile.

"Hi, can I come in?" I asked him as he stepped to the side. The grin on his face never wavered and I felt horrible for what I was about to do. I stepped into his room that I had been in many times before as I glanced around, it was pretty plain, it had a few trinkets from Earth dotted around but it mostly reminded me of mine. I felt Nathan's hands run up and down my bare arms as I tried not to shrug him off. Now that I knew I wanted to be with John it felt wrong for me to let Nathan try and be intimate with me.

"What's the problem?" Nathan asked, I heard his voice right by my ear as I walked out of his reach and turned around to face him.

"I've been thinking about something," I told him as fidgeted with my fingers, trying not to let my nerves get the better of me.

"So have I," he said as I paused for a second to stare at him. My brows furrowed for a second as I tried to guess on what he could possibly be talking about. Nathan took one step towards me and I had to force myself not to move away from him.

"I was thinking that…maybe," he took another step as I lost my train of thought, the way he was staring at me, with his large brown, doe eyes, I felt extremely guilty but I knew it had to be done. "I—"

"I love you, Mia."

 _Excuse me?_

I felt my jaw drop in shock as my body got frozen to the ground as Nathan placed his hands on my shoulders. "Mia I love you, I've loved you for a while now and I've been wanting to tell you but the perfect time never came around."

" _Major Lorne please have your team ready to depart in T-minus thirty minutes,"_ I heard the voice come over the comms but I was more focused on the fact that Nathan just told me that he _fucking loves me!_

"Nathan…I…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say to him. What do you say to someone that just told you that they loved you when you were about to break it off?

"You don't have to say anything now, I've just been holding it in for a while now…you should go and get ready for your mission," he told me as he started to push me to the door.

"Wait, Nathan—" I tried to stop myself but he was already opening the door for me.

"We'll speak when you get back, Mia." He bent his head and pressed a sloppy kiss to my mouth. His tongue poked through my teeth as I tried not to curl away from him as I let him kiss me. He pulled away after a few seconds as he smiled at me and shut the door. I stared at him while the door closed on him and once it was shut I slapped the sides of my face with my hands and gripped my hair, pulling on it as I silently screamed at the door.

What the hell had just happened? I had tried to break up with him and he just told me he loved me, holy shit I was the worst person in the galaxy right now, why couldn't I have just said it straight away like a normal person? Honestly I wanted to slap Nathan right now, why did he have to plant the ' _I love you'_ on me? And at a time like this, no doubt!

I heard someone jogging near me as I turned and saw Lorne; a snarky smile came over his face. "Come on, Sumner, leave lover boy alone and get ready for the mission!" He joked as he jogged passed, he was already geared up and from his direction he was heading towards the gate room. I wanted to scream at Lorne that Nathan wasn't my ' _lover boy'_ but I knew that wouldn't end well. Knowing that there wasn't anything that I could do right now as I did need to get ready I huffed loudly and stomped my way back to my room.

* * *

"Say hi to the kids for me!" Rodney called sarcastically to me as I smirked and checked my ammo in my p-90. He was walking up the stairs as I called out to him.

"Isn't your team on the next rotation for the planet? I'll be sure to let all of the children know what colour you like your face painted!" Rodney glared at me as I heard laughter from my team. His grumbled something under his breath as my grin grew larger as I watched him march up the stairs and into the control room.

A figure caught my attention on the balcony as we stared at each other for a couple of seconds, before the Stargate diverted my attention. Lorne was talking to Reed and Harris about something about the kids as I turned back to look at John. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at me intently. My mind went back to this morning, and the kiss we had shared on the South Pier and I felt my cheeks redden. My mood then soured when I thought about what Nathan had said to me after.

God, I seriously needed therapy.

"Alright let's head out," Lorne said to me as I nodded and followed him through the Stargate.

We trekked through the familiar dirt path to Keras' village; Reed and Harris walked about fifty meters in front of us as they were talking to each other in depth about something. From what I had caught they were talking about pork chops or something meat related. Men are weird…

Lorne and I walked together as I continued to admire the scenery around me, we didn't really have much to worry about on this planet, since our incident over a year ago on this planet the Wraith still hadn't made any move to come and inspect why their beacon had come online. We were probably five more minutes away from the barrier anyway. From up ahead I heard Reed shout, "Of course it's the best! It's succulent and just—juicy!" I frowned as I heard Lorne chuckle from beside me.

"Honestly, men confuse me sometimes," I said to Lorne as I looked over at him. He laughed loudly.

"And the female species isn't? You in particular manage to confuse me," Lorne stated as I frowned and smacked him on the arm.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked him as he gave me a knowing look.

"I thought you and Sheppard were done for?" He asked quietly, even though there was no way Reed and Harris was listening as they had apparently started discussing what type of steak is the best.

"We are!" I hissed, I could feel my cheeks flaming up.

"Didn't look like it from what I saw in the gate room today," Lorne shrugged as I faltered for a second then hurried to fall into step with him again. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Your just a little hawk, aren't you?" Lorne laughed again as he patted me on the shoulder. I sighed, "It's complicated."

"I'll say, weren't you leaving Nathan's room this morning?" I felt my whole face heat up in embarrassment as I spluttered.

"Wha—no! It wasn't—you've got…it's not what it looked like," I said to him as Lorne tried to hold in his laughter at my obvious display of idiocy. It felt weird to be talking about this stuff with Lorne, I mean, this was _Lorne_ for Christ sake. But at the same time is felt good to be able to talk to someone about my problems, even if he was judging hard without knowing the full story.

"I'm a good listener," Lorne offered as he nudged me with his shoulder. I rolled my eyes at him.

"John and I—"

"Ok, that's weird for you to call him by his first name," Lorne interrupted as he pulled a grimace. I shoved him as he chuckled.

"I'm not exactly going to call him Colonel or Sheppard the entire time, am I?" Lorne waggled his eyebrows at me and I could tell his mind was deep in the gutter right now. I scoffed. "Anyway, I decided to end things as it was getting to complicated, and I tried to stay away and move on, Nathan did help but my feelings for him never disappeared, I just locked them away and ignored them and tried to make it work with Nathan, things may have gone too far seeing as I tried to break it off with him this morning and he told me that he loved me."

"What?" Lorne gasped. I nodded and sighed.

"When John was," Lorne gagged at me using his name; "infected with the retrovirus we sort of had a little incident in the gym."

"Oh, that's nasty."

Lorne received another smack.

"And I realized that what I have with…Sheppard is different to what I was trying to make work with Nathan. John and I just click." Lorne was silent. I was nervous, even though he was ok with John and I not being together, I don't know how he would react with us being together again. "You won't tell anyone, if we do get back together, will you?" I asked nervously as Lorne stopped us by pulling on my arm.

"Mia," he said sincerely, "I've seen first hand how miserable you are going on mission's sometimes, I've also seen how the Colonel is knowing that you guys aren't together because I saw you both when you were, and the two of you lit up a room."

"Were we that obvious?" I asked worriedly, shit, how many people knew about us now?

"No," Lorne shook his head, "I don't know, but I know that when you guys were together, your smiles were different, different to how they are now. And I don't want to see you guys miserable so you don't have to worry about me outing you to Weir, 'cause I can see it on your face right now." I smiled at him, a true smile.

"Thanks, Evan," I said. Lorne looked up where Harris and Reed had disappeared from sight.

"We should catch up," he said as I nodded and we continued walking again.

It only took us a minute to catch up to Reed and Harris, once I saw their bodies come into view my blood ran cold as Lorne saw the same thing I did.

"Holy shit," I hissed as I aimed my p-90 into the foliage. I saw Lorne do the same.

"Reed? Harris?" Lorne called out to them. Both men were unconscious, lying on the dirt floor as I scanned into the trees. I couldn't see anyone moving or any sign of attack.

"What the hell is going on?" I whispered to Lorne.

"I don't know, don't let your guard—" Lorne was cut off when I heard the distinctive sound of a Wraith stunner as his body dropped to the ground.

* * *

 **So uh...did anyone see that coming? I bet you all thought this chapter was going to end on a high note, didn't you? Can anyone guess as to who or what might have just knocked Mia's whole team out? Now is when it really starts to get fun! I'd love to hear your thoughts on everything! Leave a review guys and let me know!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Guest 64** \- Aw thank you! Yep so she finally realised that she can't live without him _swoon_ , but now shit has hit the fan on all fronts. Hope you enjoyed this one!

 **Adela** \- I guess we will have to wait and see after this now!

 **sheppardlover928** \- Thank you! I try not to change too much as then she'll sort of become a mary-sue and I hate when characters take most of the lines from other characters so I always try to give her own lines and scenes but for that particular one I couldnt really do much changing to it expect for taking Teyla out. I'm pretty sure Mia has stated that her middle name is dangerous so we'll have to see what happens next!

 **parmakai66** \- Yeah it was pretty touch and go for that scene, I couldn't really imagine it any other way then John telling her to stay away from him, always the hero that man. Fate is cruel to these two...or me i guess hahah

 **Thanks guys! Leave a review with what you think has just happened!**


	43. Emergence - Chapter 43

**Hey guys! Thanks for all your feedback for the last chapter! And thank you to _parmakai66_ for your pm, yeah I never proof read, don't have time for that but thank you so much for taking the time for the feedback! I did proof read this chapter so hopefully not too many grammar mistakes in this one!**

 **So I can't wait to hear all your thoughts on this chapter, I've been waiting to release this for so long now! On a side note in 5 reviews we hit 200! Woohoo thank you everyone!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Genesis  
**

* * *

I spun around, aiming into the trees where I had heard the sound of the stunner come from. Nothing moved, only the breeze from the wind rustled the leaves and bushes. I could feel the sweat dripping down my neck from the anxiety as my palms became clammy.

"Drop your weapon, otherwise we'll kill your friends," I heard a mans voice say from behind me. I ground my teeth together as I watched three more men emerge from the shrubbery. I glanced over my shoulder, seeing a tall man with unruly brown hair pointing a Wraith stunner at me. I looked back to the other three men as they each had Genii weaponry pointed at Lorne, Reed and Harris.

"What do you want?" I asked them hatefully. The man behind me jabbed me with the stunner.

"If you don't want your friends to die, you'll do as we say," he growled as I frowned at him intently. I continued to glare at him as I slowly lowered myself to the ground and placed the p-90 there. "Kick it away," he said. I bit my tongue as I kicked it away from me, silently hoping that it went on frenzy and released some bullets that would magically hit them. One of the men picked up my p-90, he was darker skinned, with a tattoo on the side of his neck. "Drop your other weapons," the man behind me ordered as I complied. I dropped my handgun and kicked it away and then unclipped my knife and dropped it and booted it away. "And the vest," he continued. Goddamn, I had a flash bang in here, how the hell did he know? I ripped the vest off my shoulders as I chucked it at the dark skinned man as he caught it.

"Are you Genii?" I asked them. I heard the one behind me scoff.

"Genii? Those scum, no, we just happen to like their weapons," he said.

"Then who are you? What do you want with me?" I demanded, glaring at each of them.

"In time, you'll see. Hold your hands out behind you," he ordered as I remained still. He sighed angrily. "If I have to repeat myself one more time, I'll tell my men to stick a bullet in each of their skulls." I could hear the threat in his voice, this man wasn't bluffing. They needed me and only me for something and they were prepared to make sure I complied. With much reluctance I held my hands out behind my back as I felt rope being tied around my wrists tightly. I winced as it dug in painfully. He then clamped a hand down on my shoulder painfully. "Let's head back to the gate, we want to be gone before the villagers come back," he told his men as I watched them take the weapons off my team. These guys knew what they were doing and they knew who we were, but I had no idea who the hell they were. Once they had raided my team's weapons the man who held my shoulder forced me to start walking ahead as two men walked in front of me and one behind.

I only complied because I knew if I tried anything, Lorne, Reed and Harris would die because of me. Whereas if I went willingly with them; their lives would be saved.

* * *

I was silent as we walked back through the forest path, I was silently hoping that we would come across one of the villagers and they would realize that I was being taken hostage and send for help, but on the other hand I didn't because if that did happen, I had no doubt that these guys wouldn't kill them first. They seemed more like the ones to shoot first, ask questions later.

"We were told you'd put up a fight," the man behind me said as I continued to frown at the ground, "guess our Intel was wrong," he said, chuckling. Oh how I wanted to shoot this man in the foot right now.

"It was a lot easier then he made it out to be," the man at the front said, he had looked over his shoulder at me with a sadistic grin, as I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from lashing out. Who was this _he?_ I was guessing Kolya. These men knew who we were, and they had Genii weapons and also Wraith stunners.

"How did you know we would be here?" I asked them.

"Oh, she speaks again," one said with a smirk.

"Now, what men would we be if we told all of our secrets right now?" He said sarcastically.

"Dead men," I muttered darkly as they all chuckled.

We came to where the path emerged from the forest and to the Stargate, the men halted as they scanned the area around us.

"Looks clear," one said. The other's agreed as they pushed me forwards again. I was looking around, hoping to see a villager that I could signal or just _something_ , I was becoming desperate. I knew that once we went through that Stargate the chances of me getting out of this alive were slim to none. We reached the DHD as one walked over to it, his hand hovered over the chevron as suddenly a material hood was placed over my head.

"Don't want you seeing where we're going now, do we?" He muttered very close to my ear as I shuddered and stepped away from him.

"My friends will find me," I threatened them as they all laughed.

"We'd like to see them try," one said.

I could hear the chevrons locking as I suddenly thought of an idea, it wasn't much but I didn't want Atlantis to think that I had gone willingly with these men. With that in mind I began to dig my toe into the moist soil. "What're you doing?" The same man asked me.

"I have a stone in my shoe, I'm trying to move it," I snapped at him, glaring at the place I had heard his voice even though he couldn't see my eyes. I continued on, as the men were oblivious to what I was doing. I heard the gate connect as I felt the rush of wind blast passed me from the vortex. I felt one of the men grab my upper arm tightly.

"Let's get out of here," the leader said as he dragged me through the gate.

* * *

We travelled through two more gates, which severely dampened my hopes of ever being found alive. These guys knew exactly what they were doing, which still lead me to believe that they were somehow connected to Kolya. Once we had gone through the second gate the men muttered something about how nice it was to finally be home after completing their mission, and it made me wonder just how long they had been trying to find me.

While the bag was still over my head the man dragged me along the path, we were still outside as I could hear the wind blowing through the trees and every so often the long grass would tickle my sides. I had tripped over numerous rocks and other obstacles in my way, I had only fallen over once but my patience was running thin. After my sixth trip, and even though the leader was still holding my arm I still felt helpless as I couldn't brace myself as my hands were tied behind my back, I finally snapped.

"Can you remove this _fucking_ bag already!" I screeched as I planted my feet on the spot and refused to walk any further. "Do you have any idea how annoying and humiliating it is to trip over _fucking rocks_ and hear you laugh at me?" They laughed again as I made a growling noise in the back of my throat.

"We're almost there, anyway," the leader said as he tried to get me to walk. I refused and dug my feet in.

"I am not walking one more step until you at least untie my hands or remove this stupid thing!" I yelled at them. I waited for something, either to be untied or to see daylight again but the only thing I felt was a hand on each side of my arms as they dragged me along. "Get off me! I swear to _fucking_ God I will murder each and every one of you!" I screeched at them as I started to kick out with my legs. Well, we were no longer on the planet so there was no need for me to keep my composure anymore. "Let me go!" I screamed as I could hear a change around me. I could no longer feel the hot sun on my back as it went considerably cooler and my grunts and curse words echoed around me. We had either gone into a cold building or were in an underground bunker, which again led me to believe that I was captured by some Genii rogues.

"Keep screaming, cause it's really going to help you," the one on my right said as I managed to kick him in the shin.

"Fuck you!"

"You—"

"Hale! We were told not to harm her," the one on my left scolded. I guessed that maybe I was about to get a nice kick or punch from the one called Hale but the other had stopped him.

"Kanayo, she—"

"You heard me," the one called Kanayo said. I stopped fighting for a second. So whoever was leading this wanted me unharmed and alive. This was getting stranger by the second.

I could hear more chatter as we went deeper in, wherever the hell we were. I could also hear fighting sounds like people sparring together. There was a dull humming sound of a generator around and the _drip drip_ of water. Maybe a little creek or pond was in here? From the damp, earthy smell I guessed we were underground or in a cave and not a man made building. I could hear the clinking of glasses and laughter as we seemed to walk through a type of maze, it would be a mission for me to get out of here, if I ever did…

"I'm going to be twenty-seven by the time you guys take this thing off my face," I muttered as we turned another corner.

"We're almost there," Kanayo said to me. And true to his word, about a minute later we stopped as the bag was removed from my head, even though it wasn't bright in the room my eyes still adjusted to the new light as I narrowed them and allowed them to adjust. I glanced around. I was in a large chamber, basic light bulbs lined the walls and a large wooden table sat in the middle of the room with twelve chairs around it. I was right to guess that we were in a very large cave with different tunnels and chambers.

"Where am I?" I asked Kanayo as I turned around. I gasped when I saw him holding a knife.

"Relax," he said, he turned me back around as I felt him cut the rope binding my hands together. "All will be explained." He said as I spun around once the rope was gone. In a split second I had smacked Kanayo's hand away and disarmed him, taking the small knife off of him as I attacked him by pinning his arm behind his back and pressing the knife to his throat.

"I don't want anything to be explained, I want to get the fuck out of here, and you're going to help me," I hissed into his ear as I pressed the knife into his skin, it drew blood. He chuckled.

"He warmed me about this, but I didn't listen."

"Who?" I barked, "Tell me who organized this, and I might not kill you," I said to him. He laughed once more as suddenly two men grabbed me; one twisted my arm as I cried out and dropped the knife as Kanayo sprung away from me. The other pinned it behind my back painfully as I winced. I tried to break free of their grip but they were too strong, which was weird as normally I'd at least be able to make them budge but these guys seemed to be made of stone even though they reminded me of Nathan's frame. I watched Kanayo press his hand to his neck and stare at the blood on his fingers. "I should've just killed you then!" I screamed at him as Kanayo smirked at me.

"You had your chance, Mia," he said as I felt my inside's freeze. He knew my name, I knew he would've known it seeing as they had specifically taken me hostage but it was still a shock for me to hear it come out of this stranger's mouth.

"How the fuck do you know me? What the hell do you want with me?" I screamed at him. When he didn't answer me I started up again, "I swear when I find out who did this, I'm going to kill him and every single one of you. You've fucked with the wrong girl!" I pulled on the two steroid ridden buff heads but they still kept a grip on my arms.

"That's no way to speak to your host now, is it?"

I stopped fighting, I think I even stopped breathing for a second; my heart had jumped into my throat as I heard the voice. It chilled me to my very center; it was a voice I thought I would never hear again in my lifetime. It was a voice I had heard all my life and one that I would recognize until my deathbed. The tears came to my eyes as my whole body began to shake. The two men released my arms as they moved away. I slowly turned around, my eyes wide as my mouth slack as my gaze landed on the figure standing ten feet away from me. He was a man, a man I thought to be dead, a man I wanted to help. A man I thought I would never see again.

"Aiden."

* * *

Elizabeth Weir always prided herself on being patient, although it was being tested after coming to the Pegasus Galaxy. Even though she set specific times for her teams to check in or be back, none ever arrived on time. The worst offender was always Colonel Sheppard's team, but she knew that they would always come back safely. Elizabeth was sitting at her desk, tapping with her pen as she looked at her wristwatch. Lorne's team was nearly an hour overdue, she wasn't too worried, they were only on M7G-677, this children's planet, she knew how much her teams loved going to that planet so she was going to let it slide, until they returned to that she could reprimand them. She had also received word about the Aurora ship, which she had sent the Daedalus and Colonel Sheppard's team to investigate. They hadn't come away with any new information but they had destroyed two Wraith cruisers, and the knowledge that the Wraith did in fact have a weakness. They were returning back to Atlantis and would be here within the hour.

Elizabeth stood from her desk and walked into the control room, Chuck; the friendly technician greeted her.

"Any news on Major Lorne's team?" She asked him. Chuck shook his head.

"No ma'am."

"When it reaches the hour mark dial the planet and see if you can establish radio contact," she told him as he nodded.

"But doesn't M7G-677 have the barrier field, they won't pick up on our signal?"

"Yes, but hopefully they'll be on their way back and should be out of range, if not we'll send a team to go and see what's taking them so long," she explained as Chuck nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," he said as she turned on her heel and walked back into her office and out the other door.

She was hungry, all this anxiety and waiting around today had taken it's toll on her, she couldn't wait to dig into a nice egg sandwich and have a steaming cup of coffee to help calm her nerves. Some would say that having coffee when your anxious would be disastrous to your health, but Elizabeth found it to help calm hers. She was halfway to the mess hall when she heard her radio.

" _Doctor Weir, please come in,"_ It was Chuck. She frowned and hit her radio.

"Yes?"

" _We've got an incoming Wormhole, Major Lorne's radioed saying that he has an emergency."_

"Let him in, I'm on my way," she said as she spun on her heel and raced back to the control room. That egg sandwich would have to wait.

Elizabeth came hurrying down the gate room stairs as Lorne and his team came through the gate. Except they were one short and all of their weapons were missing. She quickly scanned over them, they didn't seem to have any marks or bruises, they looked a bit exhausted and then Elizabeth asked the dreaded question.

"Major Lorne, what happened…where's Major Sumner?" She asked desperately. Lorne looked dejected as he looked at Reed and Harris and then back to Elizabeth.

"She's gone," he said to her. Elizabeth frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Lorne said, rubbing his head, "Mia's missing."

* * *

"I want to know everything, what happened?" Elizabeth demanded from Lorne. They had moved up to her office as she allowed Reed and Harris to go and be examined by Carson. Lorne had wanted to speak to Elizabeth first, seeing as Mia was missing, this was top priority.

"It was all normal, we were walking to the village, we were barely just outside the field when Mia and I saw Reed and Harris unconscious up the path. We ran over to them, and then a few seconds later I was out for the count. When I woke up, all of our gear was taken and Mia was gone," Lorne explained. Elizabeth paced behind her desk as she rubbed her forehead.

"Was it some of the villagers do you think?" She asked. Lorne shook his head.

"No, they were the one's who found us, they were wondering what was taking us so long. As soon as I woke up I asked them if they had seen anyone around they said no."

"Could she still be on the planet?" Elizabeth asked. Lorne shrugged.

"We were out for quite a while, I doubt they'd still be there, I saw footprints heading back to the Stargate but I'd need Ronon to have an exact opinion."

"They'll be back any minute now," Elizabeth said as she sat back down and laced her fingers together and lay her head down on them.

"My guess is, someone knew we would be there, at that exact time. And they came specifically for Mia."

"She has the gene," Elizabeth said, raising her head.

"So do I," Lorne reminded her, "If they were after the gene they would've taken me too. We were hit by Wraith stunners...but if it was them I doubt me and my men would be alive right now," Lorne said. Elizabeth nodded.

"Ok, who took her isn't the priority right now, what is, is finding her alive."

"I agree," Lorne nodded.

"In the meantime I want you to go and see Doctor Beckett and get checked over, I'll send Colonel Sheppard's team out as soon as they get back," Elizabeth told him. Lorne nodded, he turned but hesitated and faced her once more.

"I'm requesting that my team go back also, Major Sumner is apart of my team and a good friend, and I want to find her," Lorne said with determination. Elizabeth and him held gazes for a few seconds before she nodded.

"Of course, I'll notify you when they're back," she said as Lorne walked out of her room. She went to her window as she gazed down at the Stargate.

 _Oh, Mia…where are you?_

* * *

John and his team were beamed directly into the control room. Rodney stretched out his limbs and groaned, "Well, wasn't that trip fun?" He muttered sarcastically.

"At least I wasn't the one drooling over a damned Wraith," John snipped at him as Teyla and Ronon chuckled. Rodney went on the defensive.

"Hey, in my defense, the first officer was a real person so…so," he said as he crossed his arms and tried not to look like an idiot.

"So you were drooling over a ten-thousand year old woman," John said with a smirk as the four of them headed up the stairs.

"Ok, you can't tell me that you didn't find her the least bit attractive?"

"No, I didn't," John, said simply, "annoying really isn't my type," he said. Rodney scoffed.

"And what is, Kirk? Damsel in distress?" John rolled his eyes at Rodney's annoying antics.

 _No, my type is tall, agile, witty, intelligent, kickass, with honey colored hair and amazing blue eyes_ , John though with a ghost of a smile.

The four of them came to a standstill as they saw Elizabeth standing at the top of the stairs with a serious look on her face.

"I'm guessing Caldwell told you about the Aurora?" Rodney said nervously.

"He did, but that's not our only problem," she said as the four of them frowned simultaneously. They waited for her to tell them about what had happened. "We have reason to believe that Major Sumner has been kidnapped, we don't know by who." There was a deafening silence for a split second.

"What?" John exclaimed. Elizabeth motioned for them to follow her as they hurried into her office. Once they were in John continued talking. "I want to know what happened," he demanded.

"According to Major Lorne they were ambushed by people with Wraith stunners, his team went down and when he woke up all of their weapons were taken and Major Sumner was gone. The villagers haven't seen her but I'm sending your team out to try and see what you can find, Ronon I want you to track their movements to see if they went through the gate." The Satedan nodded. Elizabeth hit her radio. "Major Lorne, please have your team report to the gate room for immediate departure," she said.

John turned on his heel and walked into the control room and pointed at Chuck.

"Dial, M7G-677, now," he said as Chuck nodded and proceeded to dial it. Teyla, Ronon and Rodney joined him at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll send a MALP through to complete some scans of the planet, they might still be there," Elizabeth called down from the catwalk. The others nodded as John looked at the Stargate intently. A million thoughts were streaming through his head right now. Was Mia dead? Was she still on the planet? Was she hurt? Who took her? He couldn't get his thoughts to focus; all he could think about was finding her alive.

The Stargate connected just as Lorne and his two men came into the gate room. John didn't pay them any attention but Teyla acknowledged them as Lorne walked up to John.

"Colonel I—"

"Let's go," John ordered, cutting off Lorne as he stepped through the Stargate.

* * *

"You find anything?" John bent down to Ronon's level as the Satedan was scanning the ground. They were at the spot of the ambush. Ronon's dark eyes moved over all the upturned patches of soil he knew was where Lorne's team had laid unconscious. He noticed that there were only three.

"She wasn't unconscious," he said as he pointed to the patches. John followed as Ronon stood back up. John looked over his shoulder to see Teyla and Lorne talking to Keras and a few of the other villagers about Mia's disappearance. "Look," Ronon said to John, catching his attention once more. "There's three marks where the men lay, she was here," he pointed to the small footprints in the damp dirt. "I'm guessing four or five men," Ronon said as he pointed to the prints around the outside of the area.

"She was probably threatened," Lorne cut in as he came to stand next to Ronon. The tall man nodded.

"How do you know that?" John asked Lorne. Lorne was about to reply when Ronon beat him to it.

"No sign of a struggle, look's like she just walked away," Ronon said as John nodded.

"Can you tell which way?" Ronon nodded his head.

"They head off this way, they didn't cover them up afterwards, most likely knowing that they were leaving the planet and it'd be a couple of hours before Lorne and his men woke up."

"Colonel!" Rodney came bounding up to them; he was out of breath but had the look on his face that he had just discovered something important.

"What is it?" John asked as Rodney hunched over on his knees and sucked in a few deep breaths.

"There's something you should see," he said as he motioned for all of them to follow him.

The two teams arrived at the Stargate as John crossed his arms as Rodney stood off to the side. "What does this look like to you?" Rodney asked as he pointed to something in the dirt. John frowned and walked over to him, Teyla followed. They looked in the dirt at Rodney's feet and saw small holes, like someone had dug their toe into the ground nine times.

"We don't have time for this, McKay," John said, irritated as Rodney held up a finger.

"You're missing the point, look again." John did as he was told but he still saw some weird holes in the ground.

"Just tell us, Rodney," John snapped. Rodney smirked.

"Honestly, you don't recognize it? Three dots, three dashes and another three dots," Rodney said as John eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he took another look at the ground again. True enough the marks in the ground were what Rodney had said.

"It's Morse Code," John revealed.

"SOS," Rodney agreed as Teyla and Ronon shared confused glances. "At least we can rule out that they are no longer on the planet," Rodney said as Teyla motioned to the SOS in the ground.

"What does…Morse Code mean?" She asked them.

"It's an alphabet or code in which letters are represented by combinations of long and short light or sound signals. But in this case the code for SOS are these three here," Rodney pointed to Mia's help signal. "SOS is basic code for help."

"She knew she was in danger, that's why she didn't fight back," John said.

"Like Lorne said, they probably threatened their lives and she was vastly outnumbered," Teyla added. John looked to the DHD and back to Rodney.

"Can you get the last known gate address from there?"

"Already done, but the DHD doesn't store address, just the residue of gate chevrons, there's bound to be dozens of possible planets on here," he explained.

"Well then we best get started, let's head back to Atlantis and tell Weir what we've found." John ordered as Rodney went to the DHD and began dialing. John saw Lorne walk up to him, as the Colonel remained silent while the gate dialed. John obviously didn't blame Lorne for Mia's kidnapping, but he couldn't help but think that if she had been with his team, none of this would've happened.

"I'm sure we'll find her," Lorne said to John as he met his gaze. John nodded.

"I know, she's just got to hold on."

* * *

 **So how many actually thought that this would've happened? I've had this planned since I first started thinking about this story and it's so amazing to finally have it out here! Let me know what you all thought about it guys!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- hahah this made me giggle! I love how everyone is like screw Nathan we want John back, well of course we do! But it looks like that breakup is on hold for now!

 **Natsuko26** \- I know! Well sort of, Ford kind of got in the way! Were you surprised that it was Ford and not the Wraith? Can't wait for John to come and rescue her!

 **parmakai66** \- Oh noooooo! Don't get in trouble at work! xD Team John all the way! I think I need to give them a ship name...I can't think of one though xD This chapter is probably just as bad as last one, I love cliffhangers so much! Again thank you for your pm, I love having good critisism, I'm pretty sure when I wrote the last vhapter I was seriously tired and messed up a lot xD

 **sheppardlover928** \- I love catching people off guard! Weapons do work on that planet but it's the barrier field that stops them. They were just outside of it when they all got hit by it so that's why, yes she finally wants to be with him again and then this happens, poor Mia she's got herself in a bit of a pickle! I love her and Lorne's relationship, it's kind of like another version of her and Ford.

 **thompsonmaria9** \- Thank you! Yes I love them both too!

 **Guest** **64** \- Thanks! I loved writing that scene, it's a pretty cool one in the series so I just had to do it with my own take on it! Ah love triangles, we love to hate them xD

 **Thanks everyone for reviewing and following the story! Let me know what you all thought about this chapter!**


	44. Emergence - Chapter 44

**Hey everyone! Thanks for the feedback for last chapter, you've probably all been waiting anxiously for this next chapter so I'll jump straight into it. Thank you everyone for the support as always and as a note we're 1 review away from 200! Yay! Thanks guys!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed as I charged for Ford. He was grinning at me with that sarcastic smile and it had set me off. The two steroid assholes caught me before I could get within five feet of Ford as they held me by the arms. He looked better then when I had seen him last, but that didn't mean he looked _well_. His left eye was still dark as night with the scarring under the eye. His hair was longer and his top body half was garbed in some tattered old jacket with metal chains holding it together. His pants were his old uniform cargo ones. I tried to shake off to two baboons holding me but they had a firm grip on my arms. Ford laughed.

"Still have that temper I see," he said as I ground my teeth together.

"Come closer and we'll find out," I snarled at him. Ford held the smirk as he waved off the men in the room.

"Leave us," he ordered.

"But—" Kanayo started but Ford silenced him with a look. With a nod Kanayo left the chamber. The two guys holding my arms slowly released me as I wrenched my body out of their reach as they walked out of the room. I turned back to Ford.

"You seem pretty sure of yourself," I snapped as Ford shrugged his shoulders.

"You wont be able to hurt me, even if you tried," he replied back casually as I felt my anger boil up again. Here I was, worried sick about him, crying and breaking up with John over him, wishing that he was home with me, I had to tell his Grandparents and Lara that they might never see him again, and here he was; acting like a stuck up prick.

In my rage I swung at him, aiming for his unguarded face, my fist almost connected when in a split second his own hand was curled around my fist as he squeezed painfully. I cried out, feeling a pain shoot up my arm from my knuckles. As I glared into his eyes I remembered the beating that he had given me, I felt the tears spring to my eyes as the aching in my chest began to reappear. I had done so much for him, defended him against everyone and yet here he was, doing the same exact thing that he had done last time. Ford hadn't changed one bit.

I felt the tear roll down my cheek as Ford continued to smirk, the pain in my hand was slowly becoming unbearable but with him distracted I made my move.

In the eighth grade I had taught myself to become ambidextrous, as I had broken my dominant arm by falling out of a tree. To this day I continued training my left hand and arm so that I would never loose that ability. And I knew that because of this, even a punch from my left arm would be just as strong. With that in mind I swung my other fist, Ford only had a second to block but I had caught him by surprise, he had no time to block as my fist sunk into his face. I heard a satisfying crack of his nose breaking as he stumbled back, releasing me. He barely flinched from the impact, from the help of the enzyme as I kicked his chest with my foot. He barely moved, swatting my leg away like a fly, I stumbled as he latched his hand around my throat and pressed me up against the wall. His grip wasn't as tight as it had been on Atlantis, I could breathe but I could feel his fingers digging into my skin painfully. I had flashbacks of back on Atlantis, when he had almost broken my neck with his grip, I could feel the burning desire for oxygen even though I knew I was breathing right now. The tears flowed freely now.

"I stuck up for you!" I screamed at him as he brow furrowed. "When everyone said that you were gone, I told them no! I said I would bring you back, that I could help you!" Ford's face didn't change but I felt his fingers relax slightly. "Even after everything you did, everything you put me through!" With an almighty push I shoved him away with all of my strength. My right hand ached something terrible but I blocked it out. "Even after you tried to kill me! I still care about you!" I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand as I watched Ford wipe away the blood from his broken nose.

"I don't need you to save me," he spat.

"Look at what you're doing!" I screeched, "You kidnapped me!"

I watched as Kanayo returned into the room, he saw Ford's bloodied nose and immediately rushed over. Ford held out his arm to stop him.

"Don't, she'll learn, in time. Take her to the holding cell," Ford ordered as he turned on his heel and started to walk out of the room.

"Ford!" I called after him as Kanayo grabbed my arm tightly. Ford didn't pay any attention to me. "Ford!" I screamed out his name again but he paid me no mind and left the room. I turned to Kanayo as he smirked down at me and dragged me through the compound again.

We stopped outside a metal door that they must have installed; stone surrounded it so I wouldn't be able to dig my way out like Shawshank Redemption. Kanayo opened up the door as it squeaked, he thrust me into the room as I stumbled and caught myself before I fell. I turned and watched him grin at me.

"Enjoy your stay," he said as he slammed the door closed. There was one single light bulb hanging on the wall and a head sized hole near the door for my air supply, I ran to the door and felt for the handle. I gasped when I realized that it didn't have one and I was completely trapped in here. I turned, leaning against the door as I examined the room. There was a small cot in here and nothing else. I seriously was a prisoner.

Everyone must be worried sick about me, they probably had no idea who had taken me and seeing as we had gone through three Stargates to get here the likely chance that they would find this planet was slim.

What did Ford want with me? Why kidnap me and not the others? Was he still in love with me? He did say that he wanted us to be together back on Atlantis and that he would leave with me, seems like he was holding me to that promise. But why go to all of this trouble?

I pushed off the door and shuffled over to the cot, I could feel the large lump in my throat grow with every step I took as I finally reached it and fell onto it. I curled up into a ball, ignoring the stiffness of the mattress as I held my injured hand to my chest as I sobbed quietly.

What mess had I gotten myself into now?

 _John…please find me!_

* * *

John had returned to Atlantis hours ago, his team and Lorne's had briefed Elizabeth of what they had found, it wasn't much. The only lead they had was the SOS in the soil, which only told them that they weren't on the planet and that Mia was in danger. Elizabeth had told them all to get some rest and wait for Rodney to finish compiling all of the addresses he had collected and matched up correctly. John had done so, he had gone to his room, showered and changed back into his uniform, he wanted to sleep but he knew in his head that he wouldn't be able to. He was too on edge, too much was going on for him to even think about sleeping. He was standing on the balcony outside of the control room, he would've gone to the South Pier but that was _her_ spot, and he wouldn't go there without her. He titled his head up as he stared at the crescent moon, he wondered if Mia was alive right now.

 _She is…I can feel it. I'd know if she were…dead,_ he thought to himself. He had to keep telling himself this numerous times throughout the day. She was alive, something in his gut was telling him so, and their bond that they shared went deeper then physical love, the love that John had for Mia spanned planets. He would gladly give up his life for that woman, he would not stop searching for her, he needed to hold her in his arms again, to see her blue eyes sparkle with joy at seeing him. He needed to hear her witty comments again.

* * *

" _Don't you think we've run enough for today?"_ _John wheezed out as he hunched over. Mia was standing tall with her hands on her hips and a proud smile on her lips. The two had been running around Atlantis for a good hour now, and John was exhausted. They had been back from Earth for about a week now and Mia had declared that they both needed to get back into top physical condition seeing as they had been doing hardly any workouts since returning to Earth._

" _What? Too much for you, old man," she said with a sly smirk as John straightened out and glared at her._

" _Who're you calling old?" he exclaimed. Mia giggled as John pointed his index finger at her, "I'm thirty-three, that's not old." He defended as Mia rolled her blue eyes._

" _Whatever you say, grandpa," she sniggered as John launched himself at her. She dodged effortlessly as she twirled around him as he tried to grab her, but he was too out of breath and she was too good. "Is your back hurting? Do you need a walking stick?" She asked innocently as John growled at her._

" _I'll show you old!" He lunged for her one final time. Mia spun around him, taking his arm that was flying out by his side as she pinned it behind his back. He winced from the jolt it gave him as she pressed her lithe body against his back. His body reacted to hers from the gentlest of caresses._

" _Too slow," she whispered into his ear. He felt her warm breath caress his neck as he shuddered and felt the blood rush straight to his groin. Mia pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. "Happy birthday," she mumbled into his skin as his mouth turned into a smile. She released his arms as she skipped ahead of him. John watched her intently, while trying to calm John Jr. down. His eyes were drawn to her rear as she swayed it seductively as she stopped and flicked her hair over her shoulder and met his gaze. "If you want your birthday present, you're going to have to come claim it," she said, beckoning him with her finger. She then turned and sprinted off. John didn't need to be told twice as he got a burst of energy and chased after her, both of their laughter echoing around the deserted corridors of Atlantis._

John gripped the railing hard under his hands. He was not a crying man, he couldn't remember the last time he had cried, it might have been when his mother had died when he was fifteen, but right now, all he wanted to do was cry, but he couldn't. He knew that he had to be strong for Mia, even if she wasn't here; he knew that she would be scared and alone and if he had any chance of finding her again he couldn't loose focus. Hopefully she would feel his strength that he was sending her and she would hold onto to hope that he would find her. He would find her, because he couldn't imagine life without her anymore, even though they hadn't been together for nearly two months, he had never stopped loving her. He wanted to give her time to sort out her feelings, he knew that what he had done with Ronon was bad, and he regretted it every single day, more so now that she was missing. And everyday that he had seen her and Nathan together had just added another dagger to his already breaking heart. He had tried to stay away from her for the most part, but he found solace in watching her from afar, even if she was with Nathan he would be happy for her, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to sit back and let the Sergeant have her without a fight. He thought back to when they had returned to Atlantis.

" _What happened to her? Where is she?" Nathan had demanded off John and Elizabeth as they conversed in her office about what they had found on the planet. Elizabeth and John shared a look at the leader cleared her throat. Of course she had heard the rumors about Sergeant Fields and Major Sumner, it was all everyone could talk about in this place sometimes. Every so often she would hear the technician's talking about it, a well placed pointed look had them shutting up and resuming their duties. So it was natural that he was worried about her, hell, everyone was!_

" _Why don't you sit down, Sergeant?" Elizabeth offered him, pointing to the chair. Nathan nodded as he sat down, he glanced up at John who was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and was glaring at a spot on the ground._

" _What happened to her? Why didn't she come back from the planet?" Nathan asked her as Elizabeth mentally prepared herself for the onslaught she was about to inflict herself with._

" _We have reason to believe that she was kidnapped, we don't know by who." She said to him. She saw the dread in Nathan's eyes as he looked back at John and then back to Elizabeth._

" _This is a joke, right?" Nathan scoffed. Elizabeth shook her head._

" _I assure you, it's not. Major Lorne's team was ambushed and stunned by Wraith weapons, Major Sumner was then taken from the planet against her will." Nathan was staring at her with wide eyes._

" _Well we have to find her!" He exclaimed._

" _We're trying, but so far the only lead we have are a number of gate addresses that are being compiled as we speak. Even then it's going to take days or even weeks to search every planet."_

" _She may not have days!" Nathan said. John could see that the situation was getting out of hand, he was getting too emotional, and he finally stepped in. He pushed off the wall and placed his hand on his shoulder, it was torture for John not to just sucker punch the guy in the face, as this was the guy who had been sharing kisses with his girlfriend, and yes, he knew that they weren't technically together but Mia had decided that, not him._

" _Sergeant, I think you need to calm down," John told him coolly as Nathan spun around, shrugging off John's hand._

" _My girlfriend is missing and you're telling me to calm down?" Nathan spat, "We need to be out there, looking for her, she could be dead already!"_

" _We don't know that," Elizabeth reminded him. She was thankful that John was here right now, she wasn't sure if she could handle the Sergeant on her own. "I will not send out my teams without viable proof and information on what they'll be getting themselves into. For all we know they could be walking into a trap to lure them in with her kidnapping."_

" _So you're just going to give up on her?" Nathan hissed at her. Elizabeth sighed, it was like talking to a brick wall, she wasn't getting anywhere with him right now. Before Elizabeth could answer him John beat her to it._

" _Major Sumner is under my command and protection," John said with a hint of bitterness towards Nathan, "If you think that I won't do everything humanly possible to retrieve her and bring her home, you are sadly mistaken." John said. Elizabeth bowed her head, from John's tone of voice she could tell that he blamed himself for her kidnapping. John and Nathan shared a glare at each other for a few seconds; both were sizing each other up. Nathan's eyes narrowed a fraction as he slowly pieced together the puzzle. With a low snarl Nathan spoke._

" _She's not very protected now, is she?" John froze on the spot as Nathan turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. Elizabeth stared at the spot where Nathan had been standing for a few seconds before her gaze turned slowly to John. His eyes were downcast, glaring at the floor._

" _John," Elizabeth said his name softly. She could tell that something was eating away at him. Slowly John met her gaze. "You can't blame yourself for this, what happened today is not your fault, please don't beat yourself up over this." She pleaded with him as John showed no emotion on his face. She had seem him do this before._

" _Too late for that," John muttered sadly as he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out of her office._

 _Elizabeth fell back into her chair as her gaze went to the picture frame on her desk. It was a picture they had taken after returning to Atlantis after being back at Earth. She had requested taking it as a memento to their accomplishments of what all of them had done. The whole contingent of Atlantis was in the picture; it had been taken in the gate room, with her staff filling up the whole room, standing on the stairs and groups on the balconies above them. Her gaze landed on a figure set between John and Teyla. She was grinning brightly, her smile was as infectious as her laugh, which Atlantis had been lacking since her departure from Sheppard's team. Her hands were placed on her hips as she was looking to her side at Rodney who had obviously said something degrading as he had a frown on his face with his arms crossed grumpily. She looked at the rest of her team, Teyla had a sincere smile on her face seeing as she was stuck between Rodney and Mia, you could tell from her expression that she was fed up from the constant bickering but wouldn't voice it as it too made her laugh. As her gaze moved to John you could tell that he was having fun listening to Rodney and Mia bicker. His arms were crossed but he had his signature smirk on his face as his eyes were looking directly at the camera. Even though they were only four of the two hundred staff she had on the base, they stuck out like her golden rays of sunshine. They were the life of Atlantis, all four of them had saved it many times and in their own ways and Elizabeth knew that if it wasn't for them then she wouldn't be sitting here. She vowed to herself that she would do everything in her power to bring Mia home, they wouldn't give up on her, just like she hadn't given up on Lieutenant Ford._

* * *

John heard the door open from behind him as he took a look over his shoulder. Teyla was hesitantly walking to him; she was dressed in her casual clothes with her hands shoved into her pockets. John looked back out to the sea and rested his elbows on the railing, leaning forwards.

"Can't sleep?" He asked her as she came to stand next to him. Teyla held onto the railing as she sighed.

"No," she admitted, "I do not think I will be getting any sleep for a while," she said sadly. John nodded silently. "It is very quiet, don't you think?" She muttered as John stared at the moon. "I think that all of Atlantis is having her disappearance weighing on them."

"We'll find her," John stated to her as Teyla stared at him for a second before nodding. They both heard the door open again as they turned and saw Elizabeth walk out.

"Mind if I join you?" She asked hesitantly as Teyla smiled at her and offered her the spot next to her. Elizabeth came to stand next to Teyla as she stared down at the water. "I tried to sleep but all I could think about…" Elizabeth trailed off, noticing the solemn looks of her two companions beside her. "I keep thinking that she's just going to walk into my office, talking about some silly nonsense that never made any sense, or about some new fighting technique she came up with," Elizabeth chuckled softly, remembering fonder times as Teyla smiled briefly, lost in her own thoughts.

John was bitter.

 _Stop talking about her like she's dead!_ He wanted to yell at them. _She's alive and I'm going to find her_ , he thought as the door opened once again. John sighed mentally, if anyone else came out and started treating Mia like she was already dead he was going to loose it. He looked over his shoulder, and felt surprise when he saw Ronon walk out and lean on the wall next to the door. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at the floor, not meeting anyone else's gaze. John knew that this was a development, he had heard from Teyla that while Lorne's team and his hand been on the planet trying to scavenge the Iratus bug eggs for him Ronon had saved Mia from being a chew toy. She had thanked him and the two seemed to have gotten along for the most part. Mia would probably have a field day when she found out that Ronon came and joined them out on the balcony.

The four of them fell into a silence for a while, they didn't need to talk to each other about their feelings and worries, but John felt a bit more at ease knowing that he wasn't the only one affected by her kidnapping.

It was a little while later when Rodney came out, "Here you all are," he said pointedly as John, Teyla and Elizabeth turned around from the railing to face Rodney. He had missed Ronon completely but continued talking nonetheless. "The database has finished compiling all of the address, it's come up with twenty-four matches."

"That's quite a lot," Elizabeth mused to herself as Rodney nodded.

"Yes, and I've been having Zelenka tamper with some of the MALPS, we've been disabling all of the less needed functions to boost the range and strength of their scanners so hopefully it wont take as long to scan planets."

"Sounds like good news," Elizabeth said with a smile as Rodney's face dropped.

"And that's all the good news there is," he said as John ran a hand through his hair.

"What's the bad news?" John asked him.

"Less then half of the planets have Stargates in orbit," Rodney said. John and Elizabeth made the connection but Ronon and Teyla didn't.

"And that is bad, how?" Teyla asked, confused.

"We know for a fact that the group who took Mia were on foot. We have twenty four planets with a match and twenty of them had Stargates on planets and the four are in orbit—"

"He means that they couldn't have gone to those lone four, we have to check the twenty," John interrupted him as he was getting irritated.

"And it's going to take a while. I mean; these people were smart. They knew where she was going to be and who she was going to be with. And who knows, they could've gated to another planet after gating off M7G-677—"

"Rodney." Elizabeth cut him off, as he was oblivious to the fact that John and Teyla were shooting him murderous looks. "Let's just get started with them."

"Oh," he said guiltily, "right." Elizabeth turned to John.

"Colonel—"

"Permission to start our search now?" John asked her. Elizabeth smiled softly.

"If you and your team are ready then permission granted."

"We are ready," Teyla spoke for them all. Elizabeth looked over at Ronon who nodded his head slightly. She turned to Rodney who was grimacing and was probably thinking of sleep but he looked determined.

"Go find her," she said to them as the four headed out from the balcony. "Colonel," Elizabeth called out to John as he stalled, he glanced over his shoulder. "Bring her home." John nodded and marched out, leaving her alone on the balcony.

* * *

I heard the door open slowly; I rolled over in the cot and strained my eyes against the darkness of the cell. I saw a man walk in and my defense went up; I sat up in the cot and watched him hold a small lantern up to his face. He was shorter than me, with sandy blonde hair hanging around his ears and a narrow face; his eyes were dirt brown with a long nose.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said, holding his other hand up in surrender.

"Why are you here?" I croaked out. My voice was hoarse from all the crying I had been doing the past couple of hours. The man shut the door behind him as I cursed myself, I could have knocked him out and made a run for it but I had been too busy bawling my eyes out. He walked the few steps to my bed as I prepared myself to attack him if he tried anything.

"Ford mentioned that your hand was hurt, I'm a scientist but I have basic medical training. I came to help," he said sincerely as I eyed him warily. I didn't trust this man, I couldn't. He was following and taking orders from a mad man that had orchestrated my kidnapping. But at the same time my hand was hurting really bad, I had been ignoring it for the most part but I had a feeling that one of my knuckles was fractured. I didn't say anything but I held my hand out to him; he took that as a sign as he set the lantern down next to me and sat on the bed. He gently took my hand, careful not to jostle it too much. I winced as he straightened my fingers out. From the dim light I could see that the skin around my middle knuckle had begun to bruise and it was swollen.

"What's your name?" I asked him. His mousy brown eyes met mine for a second before he looked back down at my hand.

"Jace, and you're Mia. Ford speaks about you often," Jace said as I felt my eyebrows rise.

"He does?"

"Yeah, he says you're his closest friend," he said as he pressed down gently on the knuckle, I hissed in pain as I pulled my hand away. "Sorry," he apologized sincerely. I let him take my hand again.

"Are you on the enzyme too?" I asked Jace. He nodded.

"We all are," he admitted. _Well shit, this was going to be a hard one to get out of_ , I thought bitterly to myself.

"Why? Why put yourself through all of this?" I could feel myself getting riled up. What was the point of taking the enzyme? What good does it do if it makes you crazy? The weird thing was though, Jace didn't seem crazy…so far. Jace shrugged at me.

"I was never any good at anything on my home planet, I was always picked on for being too small or too weak, the only thing I was good at was science, but the Genii didn't appreciate me."

"You're Genii?" I took my hand away from his.

"I used to be," he argued. "Ford came to one of our safety cache planets, Kanayo and I were stationed there and he convinced us to join him. I'm glad I did, I've been able to do so much, research more in depth about Wraith technology and biology then I ever could back with the Genii," Jace paused as he took out some ribbon from his pocket. "I think your knuckle is broken," he said as he took my middle finger and ring finger and tied them together. The movement had me flinching but I toughened up.

"That still doesn't answer my question as to why you take the enzyme," I stated to him as he tied it off. Jace sighed.

"It does something to you, your stronger, faster and more resilient."

"And crazier," I muttered as Jace smirked and scoffed.

"It lowers the rational thinking part of the brain, but I've been able to refine it a bit more to help stop that and focus more on the adrenaline and strength," his words stunned me. My gaze lowered to the crease of his arm where I saw numerous puncture wounds from a needle. He then took out a bandage and began to wrap it tightly around my hand and wrist.

"Is he going to put me on it?" I asked quietly. So far Jace seemed to be the only reasonable person I had come across in this place, even if he was on the enzyme I could possibly use him, he seemed a lot more sympathetic to my cause.

"I'm not sure, he never spoke to us about it."

"Why am I here?" I asked. Jace faltered for a second and resumed his wrapping, he thought I had missed it but I hadn't. So there was a reason for me being here.

"Ford will tell you," he said as he finished with the bandage. "You should try not to move it that much," he offered as I nodded. Jace stood up from my bed as he took the lantern and walked to the door. He tapped on it twice and turned back to look at me. "Just a little bit of advice, try not to anger him. He does crazy things when he's mad," Jace said as I felt the blood drain from my face. I knew first hand what Ford was capable of when he was made. I nodded as the door opened and Jace stepped out.

"Thanks," I called out to him just as the door shut. I watched Jace and another walk away from the tiny hole next to the door as I swung my legs up onto the bed and lay back down. I rested my injured hand on my chest as I shut my eyes, I tried to sleep, but I knew that it was futile.

* * *

I don't know how long I had been in the cell for; I could have been hours, days or weeks. The only thing that got me through it was finding the little rock on the floor and carving a tally on the wall every time I counted to a minute. It was sad I know, I felt like I was in a jail cell. I pretty much was. I sighed as I counted up my tally's, according to my wall, even though it wasn't accurate seeing as I would get sidetracked by day dreaming and having naps, I had been here a total of three days, give or take.

My stomach groaned painfully as I held my hand to it, I looked to the side at the discarded tray full of meager food. I had been refusing to eat, Jace had said that he had managed to refine the enzyme; I didn't put it past them to be able to lace it with food so I turned my nose up at it. But now I was seriously regretting it. I had been drinking the water they had been giving me, I had smelt it and tasted it and it was like normal water. I was hoping that they hadn't been able to infuse it with water yet, but so far I didn't feel a change. Just very lethargic and hungry right now. My stomach groaned once more as I grimaced. I couldn't put it off for much longer, if I didn't eat my body would start to shut down and I'd starve. So I painfully crawled over to the tray and examined the food. I eat the bread, it was stale but once it hit the back of my throat I inhaled it. I didn't touch the meat but I scoffed some of the potato down my throat and pushed the rest away from me. If they had laced it I didn't want to each much. I felt the food hit my stomach as it was finally happy, I still felt hungry but I didn't want to push it too far. I rose shakily to my feet as I lay down on the bed.

The door opened harshly, jolting me awake from my sleep as I sat up in the bed. I felt my heart race when I saw Ford standing in the doorway. His eyes scanned over me, to the still full tray and then back to me.

"Let's go," he ordered as I frowned.

"What?" I spat angrily. Ford rolled his eyes.

"You think I was going to keep you in here forever? I just wanted you to have enough time to think about your actions," he stated as he stepped into the room. I scoffed.

"My actions?"

Ford rolled his eyes at me, "You want to stay in here then?"

"No," I said quickly.

"Then come on," he said to me.

* * *

 **Well gosh, Mia is in a little bit of a pickle, isn't she? And from here there are a few more chapters from John's P.O.V so we'll be seeing more of the gang at Atlantis with how they deal with Mia's kidnapping! Let me know what you all thought about this chapter and their fateful reunion!**

 **REPLIES**

 **teekee hut** \- Yeah sorry but not sorry! I make a lot of people hate me sometimes with my stories hahah We'll have to see about John and Lorne, and yeah no one cares about Nathan hahah. I couldn't even write that too as it was like Mia is MIA...like wot.

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **ng674** \- Haha sorry about the cliffhanger i guess, this one isn't much better in that department at all! Looks like we'll have to wait a bit before they can get back together now, don't we? Thank you!

 **The Real Sina** \- Same here! I've been bursting at the seams to finally post this episode, it turned out exactly how I wanted and more, a lot more happens then just this but it's probably my favourite thing to come out of this whole story! Get ready for a rollercoaster of feels!

 **Thank you everyone!**


	45. Emergence - Chapter 45

**Hey guys! I know I'm late and I'm super super sorry! I know you're all hating the cliffhangers and this one is no better, it's probably the worst out of them all just saying! This chapter is a little on the short side cause I kind of stuffed up my page breaks a while ago without realizing but next chapter is a long one I promise! You're reactions to all of this gives me life, I love hearing your thoughts about Mia and Ford and about Mia and John, sigh, when will our two hero's be reunited again?**

 **Thank you everyone! We hit 204 reviews and I can't believe but also today is the** _1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY_ **of this story! I can't believe it's been a whole year since I posted the first chapter of this story. This story has come a long way from when I first began writing it years ago and it's all thanks to you guys! It would'nt be half the story it is today without you all so thank you!**

 **Enjoy guys!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

I rose from the bed slowly as Ford stepped out of the door to let me walk out. I eyed him warily, what the hell was he playing at? I watched him as he shut the cell door as he started walking down the long corridor. I walked beside him, I found it odd that I wasn't restrained like before but I knew that even if I tried to run for it, Ford would be able to take me down in an instant because of the enzyme and my injured hand.

"Where are we going?" I asked him as we came to a junction and we turned left.

"I want to show you around, I don't want to keep you locked up," he stated as I frowned.

"Why?" I asked him. I wanted answers this time, he had kidnapped me and locked me up for god knows how long, I deserved answers. Ford stopped walking and faced me.

"Because I want you to become apart of this, Mia. The enzyme isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be," he argued. "I want you to see how much better it makes you, you wouldn't believe the things that we can do now!"

"Like kidnapping your friend?" I muttered to him angrily. Though from what he had just told me reaffirmed that he must still care about me. He had told me back on Atlantis he wanted us to leave Atlantis together, I guess now he had acted on it and even after I had gotten myself away from him he still held up on his promise. Ford got a dark look on his face.

"It was the only way to get you here," he said to me.

"You could have contacted me, or just asked, I would've come to see you," I said desperately as he shook his head.

"No you wouldn't have, you would've come with Sheppard and a whole bunch of Marine's," he spat back. I could hear the venom in his voice when he had said John's name. Thinking of John made my heart ache, I wondered if I was ever going to see him again. "I don't want to talk about this," Ford said suddenly as he glared at the spot over my shoulder. "Let's go," he ordered as he grabbed my upper arm roughly and walked me through the complex.

We entered a large training area, there were about four men sparring together and they seemed to be really going at it. I watched one man violently punch another in the face and then he went for the gut. The other man coughed up blood and wiped his face as they grappled before the first one pinned him to the ground and elbowed him in the chest. I glanced up at Ford who was smirking and looking pleased at the display, I grimaced. I took another look around the room, it was filled with a dozen men, some were sparring, others were looking at plans on tables and others were talking and drinking out of mugs. I didn't spot one female.

I shuddered as I crossed my arms and hugged myself, as I looked around the room I caught the eye of a larger man with tattoo's and a buzz cut. I felt my skin crawl when I met his gaze as I immediately turned away and instinctively moved closer to Ford.

"Maybe when your hands healed you can teach my men a few things about fighting," Ford said as I looked up at him.

"They seem to be doing fine on their own," I said with disgust as I watched the injured man spit up blood as the other held his hands up in victory as he high fived the others around the sparring mats.

"They know guerilla style," Ford said, meeting my gaze. "I need them to learn tactical, combos, all that stuff which you're good at," Ford praised me as I pursed my lips.

"You're just as good," I retorted to him as Ford grinned and laughed.

"No one beats you, Mia," he said. For a moment, I saw a flash of the old Ford in his smile. It had only lasted a second but when he had spoken I felt like I was talking to the old him. Maybe there was hope for him yet. The old Ford was gone after a moment as he tugged on my arm. "Let's go," he said as he marched me through the complex once more.

"Why aren't there any women here?" I asked Ford after we walked for a few minutes. He tilted his head to the side, letting me know that he had heard me.

"They're out on a recon mission, their skills are put to better use when it's just the three of them," Ford explained. I frowned.

"What are they doing?" I asked him. I heard Ford laugh.

"Gathering information for me, they have a special way of doing this that only they can," as he spoke he looked over his shoulder at me and winked. I felt disgusted. So they were whores, trading sex for information. I looked away from his gaze.

"What else do they do around here?" I enquired. I wanted to know if me being here, I would have to do the dirty work like those women.

"Keep my men entertained," Ford said nonchalantly as I felt the bile in my throat. It disgusted me at how easily Ford spoke about them, like it was the weather.

* * *

I was stunned when Ford and I arrived at the entrance of the cave; I stared up at him as he gazed across the landscape. I couldn't believe that he had brought me out here, alone. If I distracted him, or better yet, managed to knock him out somehow I could make a break for the Stargate and dial Atlantis. There was just one problem; I didn't have my IDC with me. Even if I managed to get to the gate Atlantis wouldn't lower their shield and if I went through I'd be as good as dead, and I wasn't ready for that yet. They had taken it from me and I bet that Ford would have it stashed somewhere, or he'd already destroyed it.

"What are we doing?" I asked Ford as I looked across the fields. It was a beautiful sunny day; the grass was swaying in the wind and the trees off in the distance looked as tall as buildings.

"Showing you why you're here," he said to me as he walked off again. My curiosity got the better of me as I followed after him. I struggled to keep up with his long strides so I was slightly jogging as I kept by his side. I breathed in deeply the fresh air every chance I could, I was just so happy to be outside and not stuck in that stuffy cell anymore.

We walked for a fair while before we stopped by some large bushes and trees as I saw a shape covered by a tarp. I frowned and watched as Ford walk up to it and take the tarp in his hand and pull back on it, revealing the object to me as I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"You brought me here to see a Wraith dart?" I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest. Ford rolled his eyes at me.

"No, I need you to fix it," he said as I felt my jaw drop.

"Excuse me?" I said in shock as Ford walked over to me once more.

"We've had a few test fly's and a few more crash landings than it can take and now it wont run. I want you to fix it."

"You're out of your mind if you think I can fix that thing!" I screeched at him. The truth was though, I probably could…

Now, I was no Rodney McKay or Radek Zelenka, but when we had our own dart I had gone over the schematics thousands of times with Zelenka and as Rodney had continuously told me during that time, I was a mechanical engineer and this was my job, and I also had a part in reconstructing some of the dart as an experiment to see if we could make it run again, that had been a fail but I knew that deep down in my gut I could fix it, but my instincts were telling me that Ford shouldn't know that.

"My sources told me that you guys took down a Wraith dart and brought it back to Atlantis, now I know you, you would've given anything to get your hands on one of these, so don't tell me you can't fix it," Ford said, his voice raised as he pointed to it. I walked up to the dart.

"I _can't!_ " I emphasized for him as Ford growled. "Even if I could, why on Earth would you think I would do this for you after you kidnapped me?" I snapped at him as Ford strode over to me and gripped my shoulders painfully.

"Don't lie to me!" He yelled in my face. I felt fear shoot through me. He had said those exact words to me back on Atlantis, just before he had choked the life out of me. I was different now, I didn't want to show him any weakness and give him an advantage over me.

"I'm not," I said calmly. "You got the wrong person, if you wanted this thing fixed, you should've got McKay," I said to him. And now I had planted the seed. If I told Ford that only Rodney could fix this thing, hopefully he would try and get him here, and that would give John and the others another opportunity to find me. Ford shoved me away from him as I stumbled back and hit the dart. I braced myself against it as Ford glowered at me.

"I wanted McKay here, I wanted you all to come, but when my spies told me that you were with another team I knew that you should be able to fix this," he explained. But something didn't make sense to me.

"How do you know that I wasn't with them?" I asked.

"I sent my team to the desolate planet with the Wraith outpost. And then I had them spread the Intel around and waited for your team to come. When it was only you with them I finally had an idea." Ford said as everything fell into place.

The dead bodies on that planet, they had Genii weaponry. Jace said that he was from the Genii, I wouldn't put it passed them that most of his little soldiers were ex-Genii also. Ford had planned this all, even the Intel.

"You're psychotic," I hissed. Ford's expression darkened and I thought for sure he was about to murder me.

"Ford!" I heard a voice call out as he turned; I looked over his shoulder and saw Kanayo walking up to him. Ford gave me one last glare and then he walked over to Kanayo, leaving me standing alone by the dart.

They moved a bit further away from me, and I saw that they were angled slightly away so that their faces are turned away from me; this was my chance! I knew the direction that the Stargate was in, I just needed to slip away quietly while they spoke, I wouldn't have long. I knew that I wouldn't be able to get home, but if I could dial the gate Atlantis would find it strange that someone had dialed and when no one comes through they would send a team to investigate, and I would be saved!

I took another look at Ford and Kanayo; they were still deep in conversation as I walked to the left, nearest to the tree's and bushes. When I was touching the foliage I sprinted into the forest. My heart was racing and I could feel the sweat dripping down my forehead. I had to do this, I needed to go home and get away from Ford.

I only ran in the trees for so long before I ran out and back onto the path leading to the cave, once near the cave I turned right and ran down the path. I remembered coming this way when I had first arrived here. It was different being able to see where I was going now. In the distance I could see the Stargate, to my surprise there weren't any guards posted, which I thought was unusual but it brought me relief, I was almost there. I stopped at the DHD as I caught my breath for a second and looked over my shoulder, thankfully no one was racing down the path to come and apprehend me. I turned back as I reached out for the first chevron.

My hand pressed down on the button as I waited for it to light up.

And nothing happened.

"What?" I muttered to myself, I pressed it again, and again, and again, and again. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" I cried desperately as I started pressing each and every button on the DHD. I could feel the tears once more, nothing was working, the DHD didn't work! I smacked my hands on the DHD as I wiped away my angry tears. "Goddammit!" I kicked the base of the DHD as the control box opened up as I ducked down and peered into the DHD. I felt around for the control crystals that I knew should be there, when my fingers brushed against the empty slots I swore loudly and stood back up straight. I stared at the Stargate, feeling my hope fade away slowly as I wished with all my might that the stupid thing would work and I could just go home. I didn't want to be here anymore! I just wanted to leave!

"You didn't really think I would've let you run off if the Stargate actually worked, did you?" I heard Ford say from behind me. I shut my eyes and willed him to go away, I just wanted this all to be a dream and I'd wake up back in my bed on Atlantis.

"Leave me alone," I muttered softly as I sank down to the floor and hung my head.

"Come on now, Mia. It's not the end of the world, you'll see that what I have here is better then what you had back on Atlantis."

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, turning my head to glare at him with all the hate I had. I felt the tears stream down my face as Ford looked smug as he stood there with his arms crossed. With a scoff he turned on his heel and walked back towards the cave. Once he was gone from sight I buried my face in my hands and screamed until my throat was raw.

* * *

It was dark when I finally moved from my sitting position on the floor, my legs were stiff, my throat was sore and my eyes stung from all the crying I had done. I tilted my head back to look at the crescent moon as I tried to imagine John staring at the exact same one as me. I thought about what he was doing right now, was he looking for me? How was everyone taking this? Did they even know I was missing? For all I knew Ford could've sent someone back to finish off my team so there'd be no evidence of a kidnapping at all. I was hoping John wouldn't do anything stupid to try and find me. Then I thought about Nathan, I hadn't broken things off with him and if I ever did manage to get home that would be the first thing on my list to do. I didn't want to think about Nathan anymore, my thoughts went back to John. And if I thought hard enough, I could imagine him standing next to me, his hand on my shoulder as I felt the warmth and strength flow through me. I could hear him whisper encouraging words to me, telling me not to give up, that he would come for me, I just had to hold on a little longer. With a sigh I face the way back to the cave and put one foot in front of the other as I walked back to my doom.

As I reached the entrance of the cave a figure moved out from the shadows, it was Kanayo.

"He told me to keep an eye on you," he explained as he folded his arms. I mimicked him as I walked into the cave. "He wants to see you," he called out as I stopped.

"Tell Ford if he wants to see me he can come find me," I said through gritted teeth as I heard Kanayo laugh.

"It wasn't a request," he said as I heard him stand next to me. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from lashing out as Kanayo led me through the complex.

We walked in silence as we passed by the large dining area, all of his soldiers were digging into food and behaving like animals, I grimaced as Kanayo and I walked down a small corridor as I saw a small door with curtains hanging in front of it for some sense of privacy. Kanayo motioned for me to go in as I took a deep breath.

On the walk here I had decided what I was going to do, now I just hoped that Ford would buy it. I hit the curtain out of the way as I stepped into the room. It was simple, with a bed, desk and a set of table and chairs. Rugs lined the floors making it seem a bit more homely. There was a privacy screen made from draping material from the ceiling as Ford emerged from behind it, he pulled on his jacket as he saw me standing in the middle of the room.

"Done with your tantrum?" Ford said with a smirk as he walked passed me at sat at his table, which had been set with a variety of foods and drinks. I seethed but held my tongue with what I really wanted to say to him.

"You know," I said, turning around and watched him take some food and pile it onto his plate, "you could be a little more sympathetic to me, you did, after all uproot me from my home, my friends and bring me here against my will," I said with a pointed look. Ford laughed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said as he pointed to the seat opposite him. "Well, with that, take a seat and have some food, I bet you're hungry." As soon as the words were out of his mouth my stomach groaned loudly as I held my hand to it. I eyed the food that Ford was eating, he was stuffing his face and sculling the wine like it was water. My stomach groaned again as I sighed and took a seat across from him. I inspected the food and I could feel Ford watching me.

"It hasn't got the enzyme in it, if that's what you're wondering," he said with a full mouth as I gave him a look.

"And why should I believe you?" I retorted. I watched as Ford poured some of the wine into my glass.

"Because," he said, setting down the bottle and pushing the glass towards me, "I want you to see how the enzyme makes us all better, can't do that if you're on it too. I need you to tell everyone back on Atlantis that it's not a bad thing," he explained. I eyed the food once more as I dished some onto my plate.

"It'll be a stretch seeing as you took me against my will," I muttered as I saw Ford look away for a second.

"I know, but it had to be done. There was no other way for me to get you here without everyone else storming the place and killing us all," he said. I took a bite of the meat, the taste melted onto my tongue as I quickly shoveling more into my mouth. "I need you to fix that dart," Ford said suddenly as I glanced up at him through my eyelashes.

"I told you, I can't. I wouldn't even know where to start or what to do. McKay was the one who spearheaded the project," I repeated. Ford was lost in his own thoughts as I continued to eat. Nothing tasted out of the ordinary so I assumed that he had been telling the truth. As I ate, I was thinking of how to approach the subject of my stay here, I sure as hell wasn't going to be a prostitute for the men here and I didn't want to be locked up in that small cell until my rescue came.

"Tell you what," I said, drinking from the glass. I had to force myself to relax in Ford's presence if I wanted this to work. "I'll have a look at it, see what I can do, but I can't promise anything." I told him. Ford smiled as I drank the rest of his wine. I watched him pour another glass as he began to drink it.

"That's a good girl," he said condescendingly as I tried not to sneer.

"Never seen you drink wine before," I remarked as I pretended to drink mine. Ford smirked.

"After a while it grows on you, only thing strong enough to knock me out now," he said as I inwardly smiled, that's what I wanted to hear. I leaned back in my chair and pretended to be interested in everything around me.

"So tell me everything, I want to know what happened since we last saw each other," I told him as Ford leaned on the table. He drank from his cup again, almost downing it all as he topped it up again.

"Where to begin? Well I guess I should start with when I got beamed up into the dart…"

* * *

I paced around in the room that Ford had assigned to me, it was small, but a lot more inviting then the cell I had been kept in for the past three days. He had also offered me a change of clothes seeing as my uniform was completely trashed by dirt and had holes in from being worn out. I had changed into the plain large shirt and trousers but kept my combat boots on, they were easier to run in, and I'd be doing a bit of running in a moment. I had finally managed to find something to tie my knotty and greasy hair up on the top of my head as I picked at the shirt and bit my lip anxiously. It had been about an hour since I had left Ford's quarters, he had talked about what he had done up until this point as I had explained everything that had happened with me since we saw each other last, excluding the information about John and I breaking up and me getting together with Nathan. We had talked for a good couple of hours and Ford had gone through quite a few bottles of wine. By now I just hoped that he had been knocked out from the alcohol and would be in a deep sleep. Deciding that it had been long enough I poked my head out from my room and looked up and down the corridor. This area I was in was filled with all the other living quarters but it seemed that everyone was asleep now. I could hear loud snores filling up all the rooms as I crept quietly along the wall. I stuck to the shadows as I continuously looked over my shoulder, making sure that no one was following me as I slowly retraced my steps back to Ford's room.

A rather loud snore from the room I was passing had me jumping and sticking myself against the wall, holding my breath for dear life as I patiently waited to hear another snore. I let out the breath I had been holding when they resumed their snores as I continued on my way. I came to the end of the corridor as I poked my head around the corner and looked up and down to make sure that no one was patrolling it. Once I saw that the coast was clear I hurried down the corridor, trying to keep my feet light on the ground.

I came to the large dining area where I had come from before as I glanced around the room, confirming that there wasn't anyone here as I headed down the small corridor I knew to be where Ford's room was. As I neared his room I felt my palms become sweaty as I rubbed them on my pants. I tried to control my breathing and heart rate, I had to be focused, I couldn't let my emotions get in the way of my mission. If I wanted to get out of here alive, I had to make sure that everything went to plan, I couldn't have any mistakes. I stopped outside of his room as I waited, I couldn't hear anything coming from the room so I glanced into the room. It was still dimly lit from the one light and I could see the bed from here, and also a body occupying it. I stepped into the room hesitantly as I looked to the corners, half expecting to see guards posted there but then I realized that Ford had no need for guards. I stared at the bed once again; the covers were drawn up around the body as I headed for the table. It hadn't been cleared off from the dinner Ford and I had shared so all the plates and utensils were still scattered around it, including the sharp knife that Ford had used to slice up his meat.

I stopped at the table, taking another look at the bed and door then reaching out for it slowly. My fingers clamped around the wooden base of the knife as I gripped it tightly in my hand. I stared at the bed again as I slowly walked towards it. I could feel the lump in my throat and the tears stinging my eyes, as I was inches from the bed. With a shaky breath I held the knife out and above Ford. I tried to control my shaking hands and the tears rolling down my face as I blinked them away.

"Forgive me," I whispered quietly. I set my face in determination and with a steady hand I brought the knife down. I used all my strength as I plunged it down into Ford. I felt a sob escape my throat as I frowned, what I had just stabbed didn't feel like a body. I removed the knife and gripping the sheet with my good hand I wrenched the covers back and gasped.

Feathers danced in my view as I was staring down at three pillows, the middle one leaking grey feathers from my mutilation. A million thoughts ran though my head. Where was Ford? Did he expect me to do something like this? What if Ford had really been here? Was I really going to murder my best friend? I had to keep telling myself that this was for his own good; he had turned into a monster. I heard a sound from behind me as I spun, wielding the knife high again, I was prepared to defend myself now, I wasn't going to stop until I was either dead or away from here.

Ford stood before me, looking impressed and smug. "I'm impressed. Didn't think you had it in you to commit cold blooded murder," Ford said as he stepped closer to me. I stepped back and felt the backs of my knees hit the bed.

"Let me go, Ford, or…" I hesitated as I stared at the knife. There was one more option. I knew Ford loved me, maybe not in the right way, maybe it was like some obsession but nonetheless he cared about me and I hoped that if I threatened the one thing he wanted I could get out of here. I held the knife to my throat. "Or I swear to God I'll kill myself here!" I threatened, as his expression remained the same.

"You're bluffing," Ford said, waving his hand. I pressed the tip against my throat as I felt a trickle of warm blood run down my skin.

"If I cant save you, then no one can. And I will not stay here and become some pet for you," I said darkly as his expression darkened.

"You're insane," he said as I scoffed.

"You're one to talk. Let me leave Ford! I wont come looking for you, I'll leave you alone, just let me go," I pleaded with him. His expression changed to stony as I realized that his guard was totally down right now.

"I can't do that, Mia," he muttered as I saw a flash of the old Ford again when he said my name. It brought tears to my eyes as I met his gaze. This was it, now or never.

"Then I guess there's only one more thing left to do," I said as I gripped the knife tightly as the both of us stared the other one down.

 _One…Two…Three…_

* * *

 **Yup, I know this is a pretty drastic cliffhanger but what can I say? I'm a sucker for the dramatics! I know it was a little short this time but next chapter will be longer I promise.  
**

 **Let me know what you all thought about this chapter and I'll be wishing this story a happy 1st birthday today, god time has just flown right by me! Thank you everyone for your continued support, I love you all so so so much!**

 **REPLIES**

 **GoldeGod48** \- Ahhhh I'm sorry that this chapter was shorter then the others! I would love to make longer ones but it's already pre-written and page ends in sync with each other, with the exception of this one cause I'm a dummy, but it all goes back to normal 10 page chapters after this! John's having a taste of his own medicine now which is really horrible in a sense but oh well, hopefully they'll be reunited soon!

 **Adela** \- Thank you! Yeah hopefully John plants a big wet one on her when he finds her...if he finds her...dun dun duuuun

 **Guest 64** \- She's such a damsel in distress right now, well not right now obviously as she almost killed her former best bud. Ford is pretty much the embodiment of evil to her right now. Poor John, I feel for him so much in these chapters...

 **Julka212** \- Oh gosh hiiiiiiii! Well done for reading it in 3 days! I salute you for that seeing as this isn't exactly a short story anymore. Yeah karma came right around and bit him on the ass hard, sigh that conversation...we'll see about that one if he finds her! Thank you so much, love you too!

 **sheppardlover928** \- Thank you! Yes it's a lot more interesting when you aren't reading chapters that are literally word for word with the episodes, it's a bit too repetitive and lacking in my personal opinion, poor Mia and John when will they ever be reunited?

 **Thank you everyone!**


	46. Emergence - Chapter 46

**Hey everyone! Loved all of your reactions for the last chapter, I know it was a horrible cliffy to leave on...and you know what's worse, you guys won't find out what happened to her until next week mwahah.**

 **Ok so a little info on this chapter, we are doing a little** _time skip_ **, just in case you all are like wait, wtf, it is explained in here but I just wanted to prepare you all for it!**

 **Thank you all so much for your hilarious reviews on how much you hate me and want the team to hurry up and find her, I laughed a lot reading your reviews, but anywho this chapter is full of angsty goodness and we also have a fated talk between John and Lorne! Whatever could they be discussing? ;)**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

Elizabeth sat at her desk in her office with her hands clasped together as she appeared deep in thought. She was staring at her fathers pocket watch, watching the hands tick by as she sighed deeply through her nose and looked to her right. Her tablet lay next to her as she stared at the blue screen, on the screen was a small picture of a woman in her uniform, it was her file picture, and in big red letters next to her picture were words that she didn't want to look at ever again. Elizabeth sighed once more as she ran a hand through her hair and drummed her fingers on the desk. She checked her watch and like clockwork she heard the gate dial in. She looked through her window and down into the gate room as she watched Colonel Sheppard's team arrive in somber spirits, she could see from their sluggish movements and turned down mouths that they hadn't had any luck on this planet either. Elizabeth braced herself for the onslaught she was about to give herself when she told them.

She watched John walk across the catwalk and into her office as she motioned for him to take a seat. He complied with a groan as he sat and rubbed his face.

"Anything?" Elizabeth asked him as John sat there quietly and shook his head.

"We had a chat with the people of the villages and they hadn't heard or seen anything on that day," he explained as Elizabeth nodded her head.

"Ok," she said quietly. She could see the tension lines on John's face, he had his team and been working practically round the clock to try and find Mia, and she could tell it was wearing them down. But they were persistent, they wanted to find Mia and they weren't slowing down until they found her, safe and alive. Which made was Elizabeth about to seem barbaric. John had risen from his chair and was leaving the room when Elizabeth called out to him, "John wait, there's something I need to discuss with you," she said as he turned and slowly walked back to the chair. He didn't sit down but leaned on the back of it as he stared at her. From his expression, Elizabeth had a feeling he knew what was about to come. "I've been told to cease all efforts in finding Major Sumner," she revealed as she saw anger come over John's face.

"What?" he spat out as Elizabeth looked away, she didn't want to see the rage on his face, the hurt.

"And I've had to officially label her and _Missing in Action—presumed dead._ "

"She's not dead," he said firmly as Elizabeth sighed.

"We don't know that, John. It's been five almost six weeks now, and we haven't come across a single trail or lead or…anything for that matter!"

"She's out there, Elizabeth, waiting for us to find her!" John argued.

"There might not be anything for us to find, John!" She retorted. She saw the hurt flash across his face and she knew that he was exhausted, if he wasn't, he'd never be showing this much emotion in front of her. "I know this is hard for you, and your team. But we have exhausted all resources to try and find her but we haven't had any luck since we started."

"We haven't even gone through all the planets from Rodney's list, just let us have one more week, you can't give up on her." John played the guilt card but Elizabeth had orders, and as much as she wanted to continue the search for Mia, she wasn't so sure they were ever going to find her.

"Believe me, John, this is _not_ something I want to do, or take joy in doing. But we have to start accepting the fact that Mia is probably dead, and she's not coming back," Elizabeth tried not to get choked up on her words as she spoke, but she could feel the lump in the back of her throat as she watched John's hands grip the chair tightly, digging into the fabric.

"If we give up on her, she's as good as dead," John said darkly, "Mia is a member of my team and a—good friend. She wouldn't give up on any of us, hell; she never gave up on Ford! I'm realizing how she must've felt when we all stopped looking for him." John said as he turned on his heel and marched out of her office through the door. Elizabeth dropped her head into her hands, she fought her tears as she breathed in deeply and exhaled. When she lifted her head, Teyla was standing at the entrance to her office with a sad look. Elizabeth cleared her throat and wiped away the stray tear that had escaped.

"How much of that did you hear?" Elizabeth asked Teyla as the Athosian woman smiled reassuringly as sat down in the chair previously occupied by John.

"Enough," she told her as Elizabeth nodded.

"Am I doing the right thing?" Elizabeth asked her.

"You are doing your duty, one can not argue with that."

"But it's not the right thing," Elizabeth repeated as Teyla remained silent. "He hates me now," Elizabeth muttered as Teyla's expression changed from sad to sympathetic.

"I do not believe so. I believe that Colonel Sheppard blames himself for her kidnapping and for her safe return. From what I have gathered, he feels as if he already failed one member of his team,"

"Ford," Elizabeth agreed.

"And he does not wish to let another one remain lost."

There was a silence between the two women for a full minute before Elizabeth spoke.

"Do you think that she's alive?"

Teyla sighed, "I have hope that she is," she said. "But I also know that what you say is true, she has been missing for almost six weeks now and we haven't found any evidence of her whereabouts."

"That's just the thing that bugs me about this," Elizabeth said as she jumped up from her chair and paced behind her desk. "On Earth, or pretty much any kidnapping scenario, there would be a ransom sent out, or a warning, or just something. We know that they wanted Mia, it was obvious with the fact that they only took her and left Lorne's team unharmed," Elizabeth aired out her suspicions to Teyla as the Athosian sat quietly, none of them had spoken about this during the past five weeks as they had been too busy looking for clues, but Elizabeth had been sitting on her assumptions for a while now.

"You think whoever took her is someone we know?" Teyla asked as Elizabeth shrugged.

"At first I thought it might have been the Genii, or Kolya even, but surely they would've sent something by now. It's morbid to think but if it was them I'd bet my wager on that they would've sent her body to us." Teyla had a disgusted look cross her face as she looked away from Elizabeth. It was hard for her to think of something like that happening to her closest friend. "And another thing is the timing, it was too well planned, they knew that we frequented that M7G-677, and there was nothing left for us to trace."

"But the only people who know of our visits to that planet are the people here on Atlantis and the village children," Teyla told her as Elizabeth sighed and rubbed her neck. It was true, Atlantis personnel were the only people to know of their travels, and she didn't want to think about anyone giving up information about one of their own, but it seemed like that might've been the case. A thought crossed Elizabeth's mind as she froze on the spot, Teyla noticed as she rose from her chair.

"Doctor Weir?" She said her name, coaxing her out of her state as Elizabeth turned to her slowly.

"There's one other person who knew of the visits to M7G-677…Ford," Elizabeth said as everything fell into place for the two women.

"You think the Lieutenant kidnapped her?" Teyla asked. Elizabeth nodded.

"It makes sense, oh why didn't I see this before?" Elizabeth grumbled to herself as she began pacing again. "Colonel Sheppard told me that when Ford took Mia hostage, he wanted to take her out of Atlantis too. It can't be a coincidence." Elizabeth said as Teyla nodded.

"We should inform Colonel Sheppard of this," Teyla said as she turned to leave.

"No, Teyla wait," Elizabeth, said quickly as the Athosian turned back to her with a quizzical expression. "I don't want to give him false hope, for all we know this could just be a strange coincidence."

"False hope is better than no hope," Teyla said to her as Elizabeth nodded.

"I know, but I just don't want him to do anything rash, you know what he's like, and his emotions are all over the place about Mia. Just give me a few days to try and piece together some more information about the matter before we tell him." Teyla wanted to voice her opinion on the matter but she also didn't want to anger or upset Elizabeth, so instead she simply nodded and left the office.

* * *

John sat in the mess hall later that night, he was picking around his plate with his fork, staring at his food while his arm was crossed over his stomach. It was later in the night after Elizabeth had broken the news to him about how they had to abandon the search for Mia. He had wanted to protest it more, he wanted to scream at Elizabeth that he would never stop looking for her, that he would never give up the search until his last breath, but something else had him thinking. He had told Elizabeth that he know knew how Mia must've felt when she had been searching for Ford, and it was true. He could honestly say he knew how she must've felt, and it feels horrible. John couldn't get over the empty feeling he had in his heart right now, he felt like he was fifteen years old again, and he had just been told the news that his mother had succumbed to her cancer. He had loved his mother dearly, she and John had a special relationship with one another, she understood him on another level entirely then his father and brother, so when she had died John hadn't known what to do with himself, and he was like that now.

John and Mia had discussed this before, how much they meant to one another, before everything went to shit. They had both given up on ever finding someone to truly love again, but they had found each other, through some twisted luck of fate John found love in a crazy, selfless, hilarious and caring woman. She was a woman who could hold her own in a fight and never back down from a challenge. She was a woman who would gladly give her own life for those she cared about, she was a woman who saw through his stony exterior and brought out the best and worst in him. And he always brought out the worst in her, but in a good way, he taught her how to love again, how to trust people again and that letting people into your heart isn't a bad thing. They had changed each other for better, and for worse, and John Sheppard would be damned if he said hadn't cried over her. As John sat there, staring at his plate, his mind wondered back to a happy memory of the two together.

* * *

 _John rolled over onto his back in the tiny bed he shared with is lover, Mia. The woman was sound asleep on her back with her arm above her head and her mouth parted slightly as she snored like a tiny child. John rolled onto his side so that he was facing her as he watched her eyeballs dance under her lids as she murmured something quietly and gravitated towards his warmth, her small hand felt his chest as she snuggled closer to him and rested her cheek against him. John smiled at her innocent display knowing that not three hours ago, his lover hadn't been so innocent. The sheet slipped down her bare shoulder as John reached out with his hand to smooth his palm over her olive skin. Her skin felt like milk under his touch as she shuddered in her sleep and sighed quietly, resuming her snores. John pulled up the sheet over her shoulder as he brushed his fingers over her cheek and through her silky hair, it felt like water running through his fingers as John bent his head, angling it slightly so that he could press a kiss to her parted lips. Her lips were warm and inviting and as he pulled away, his hazel eyes met brilliant azure blue ones as she blinked them a few times to fight the sleep. A sleepy smile came over her delicate face as John felt his heart soar to see her smile like that for him._

" _Good morning," she said, her voice laced with sleepiness that made her that much alluring to John. John smirked down at her._

" _It's not morning yet," he commented as Mia turned her head to look at the clock on the night table and saw that it was only eleven thirty at night. She turned back to him._

" _I feel like I've slept for a week," she said, stretching out underneath him as John wound his arms around her slender body and pulled her flush against him. She let out a quiet gasp as John planted a tender kiss at the base of her neck. John felt her fingers dig into the soft skin of his arms as he bit her gently and massaged the area with his tongue. She moaned softly as John felt himself suddenly come wide-awake as he moved his body to hover over hers. The sheet fell away from their bodies as he gazed down at her perfect body; she had muscle in all the right places and perfect sized breasts to fit his hands. He met her gaze again, he saw the love and the wanting in her azure gaze as he kissed her on the mouth, his tongue darting between her teeth as Mia wound her arms around his neck._

" _It's still my birthday," John whispered into her ear as his hands began to wonder over her warm body. John felt her arch her back into his touch as she sucked in a deep breath as his hands dipped lower._

" _What do you want?" She asked breathlessly as her eyes slipped shut in euphoria. John pressed a kiss to the skin below her ear as she moaned and dug her nails into his skin._

" _You, Mia. Only you," he said to her as his fingers began to move inside of her._

" _I'm yours, forever," she gasped out as she clung to his body._

"Colonel?"

John jumped slightly as he heard his name called; he looked up, seeing the gaze of his Second in Command as John cleared his throat from the very erotic memory he had just had. Lorne gave him an odd look but didn't question it.

"What can I do for you, Lorne?" John asked as he stood from the table and took his tray to the dump.

"I—uh," Lorne said as John faced him after setting down his tray. "I heard that Doctor Weir is ceasing all search parties for Mia," Lorne said. They way he had said it, it was like Lorne was asking John if it was true or not. John wanted to tell him that it wasn't true, but it had been a few hours since he had returned, he expected the news to spread about the city like wildfire.

"Yeah, she's under orders," John confirmed as he crossed his arms. John saw the dejected look on Lorne's face. John knew that the Major was seriously taking Mia's kidnapping hard; he blamed himself for not being able to save her. And as much as John wanted to blame Lorne, he knew it wasn't his fault, it was no one's fault that she got kidnapped. The only person they could blame was the person who did this. When Lorne didn't answer him John turned on his heel and marched out of the mess hall.

"Colonel, wait!" Lorne shouted after him as the Major jogged up to meet him. John stopped in the hall and turned to face Lorne.

"What is it, Major?" John tried not to sound grumpy, but with speaking to Lorne he was reminded about how they weren't going to be looking for Mia anymore.

"I was hoping to speak to you about something…in private," Lorne emphasized as John frowned in confusion but nodded to Lorne as they moved into one of the empty science labs. John entered first and leaned back on the desk with his arms crossed. Lorne stood a few feet away looking nervous. "I've been sitting on this for a while now," Lorne said as John's interest was peaked. "It seems completely irrelevant now but…" Lorne rubbed the back of his head as John sighed.

"Out with it, Major," John barked as Lorne met his gaze quickly and then sighed through his nose.

"The day that Mia disappeared. She told me something that I think you should know." Lorne said as John went emotionless, he put his block up, he had no idea what Lorne was about to tell him.

"And why do you think I need to hear this?" John asked him bluntly.

"Because it's about you and her," Lorne said. John, on the inside was shocked and wondering what the hell Lorne was talking about, but on the outside he remained composed.

"I don't know what you're implying," John said monotonously as Lorne scoffed.

"Come on, sir, you don't have to act around me. Mia told me about you guys." Lorne revealed as John heard warning bells go off in his head. Was Lorne telling the truth? Did he truly know about him and Mia? "And I think you should know that she was planning on breaking up with Fields that morning but she didn't have time. She told me she wanted to be with you," Lorne said as John felt his fists clench.

"Why would she tell you that?" John asked.

"Because she needed someone to talk to, she was hurting over you, badly. And she couldn't talk about it with anyone else here and I sort of made my own assumptions when I arrived," Lorne explained as John stood there wallowing in self-pity. He had hurt her and he had made her run away from him, confiding in someone other than himself. He wasn't mad that Lorne knew, or that Mia had opened up to Lorne, he was mad at the fact that he had made her do those things. He had pushed her away.

"Why are you telling me this now?" John asked him. Lorne sighed.

"Because, knowing that we're stopping the searches for her…it's possible that she might never come back and I didn't want to sit on this information with you thinking that she died not loving you. She loved you, Colonel. Even before the kidnapping, I could tell she never stopped."

John flinched when Lorne mentioned the 'dead' word but John guessed this was the time to start accepting that Mia might have died like everyone was trying to tell him. John would never stop looking for her, he knew that, but he had to start accepting that if he ever found her, she might not be alive. And that hurt more then Elizabeth telling him that they were stopping the search.

Lorne and John didn't say anything else to each other; no other words were needed as the Major walked passed John and out of the room. John's fists were balled up at his side as he could feel himself shaking with rage. Rage at the fact that Mia had indeed loved him all this time, he was mad that their last moments spent together weren't as a couple but hindered because of him. With a swing of his arms John hit the computers, papers and lamp off of the desk in one swoop as he braced himself against the desk. He pounded his fists on the desk once, twice, five times, hoping to alleviate some of his anger, but it just kept coming.

* * *

"You're unfocused," Ronon commented to Teyla as he helped her up from the floor after just disarming her and pinning her to the ground. Teyla brushed herself down and shook her head.

"I am fine," she tried to reassure him with a smile but Ronon saw straight through her.

"Really?" He said, crossing his arms. "Then why was that the fourth time I've taken you down in the past twenty minutes?" Teyla gave him a pointed look. Since Ronon had been here almost two months now, he had opened up more to Teyla, meaning he spoke more so she was able to hold a proper conversation with him, even after the stunt he pulled on Balkan.

"I just…have something on my mind," Teyla said as she collected her discarded weapons and packed them away. Ronon grunted in acknowledgement. When Teyla turned to look at the Satedan who was still staring at her. "Really, I am fine," she repeated once more as Ronon rolled his eyes and turned his back on her. Teyla turned on her heel and left the gym.

After she had changed into more comfortable clothes she went to Rodney's lab, she didn't bother knocking as she entered and stood quietly watching the scientist. Rodney was sitting at his desk, his head resting on one of his hands as he rolled a pen in between his other fingers. His expression was solemn as Rodney sighed and set down the pen on the desk.

"Are you ready?" Teyla made herself known as Rodney jumped in fright and looked over his shoulder at her.

"What? Oh—um, yeah," he said as he stood and walked over to her. Teyla greeted him with a smile as they both left his lab and headed up to the control room.

It was late at night when they met the others outside on the balcony. Carson, Elizabeth, Lorne, Reed, Harris, Zelenka, Teyla and Rodney stood in a semi circle as they each looked out to the vast ocean. The cool breeze flowed through them all, ruffling their hair and clothes, as Carson was the first to speak.

"I cannae believe we're actually doin' this," he muttered sadly as Elizabeth placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. The door opened behind them as each of them turned to see who had come to join them. Ronon walked out with his arms crossed and he came and stood next to Teyla.

"I know we may never know what happened to her," Elizabeth said as she looked around the circle. "We don't know if she'll ever come back, and I promise to all of you that even though we aren't allowed to continue our search, Mia Sumner will never stray too far from my thoughts." Elizabeth said, she blinked away her tears.

"She was a good friend," Lorne commented as everyone nodded.

"She was really smart," Rodney added with a smirk. A few chuckled at the memories of Mia and Rodney bickering about certain subjects.

"A brilliant warrior," Teyla said with a smile as Reed and Harris chuckled at fond memories of getting their ass's kicked by her. Carson sniffled loudly as he wiped his nose on a tissue and wiped his eyes. There was a silence between the group as Teyla set the candle on the railing and Carson came over with the lighter. He lit it as the flame flickered in the breeze and each person had their eyes trailed on it.

* * *

" _What would you have been if you'd never joined the Air Force?" Mia asked John as she stood leaning on the railing at the South Pier. John was sitting on the bench behind her reading over a mission report; he dropped the tablet down from his face as he stared at the back of her head._

" _Why do you ask?" John asked her as Mia turned around and leaned back on the railing with her arms crossed._

" _Just curious," she shrugged as John set the tablet down next to him and stood up from the bench. He strolled over to her, her blue eyes trailed on him as John wound his arms around her waist and pulled her against him._

" _I guess I would've gone into my father's business, it's what he wanted anyway and why I joined the Air Force in the first place," John explained as he felt Mia's hands rest on his hips as she leant her cheek on his chest. "It was around when my mother died, she wanted me to be whatever I wanted, and when she died my dad told me that I had to be in the business with my brother. Being fifteen I rebelled and then as soon as I turned seventeen I joined the Air Force," John chuckled after he spoke. He was seeing the similarities between Mia and himself; they had both defied their father's and joined their respected Militaries, which caused both parents to disown their children. It was crazy how alike the two were._

" _I wanted to be a Doctor," Mia muttered. John wasn't surprised at the fact. "I always wanted to help people, and it's just something I could've seen myself doing," she said as she sighed._

" _You would've made a great doctor," John said lovingly to her as Mia smiled._

" _You still haven't told me what you wanted to do," she stated with a pointed look. John rolled his eyes._

" _I wanted to be a detective growing up," he said as Mia grinned._

" _I can see that," she said to him as John chuckled. "Detective Sheppard has a nice ring to it," Mia said thoughtfully as John nodded._

" _So does Doctor Sumner," he said as he tapped her on the forehead lightly. Mia giggled as she smiled up at John. After a few seconds John pecked her on the forehead. "Come on, we should head back, we have an early mission tomorrow," John said to her as Mia sighed._

" _No!" She whined, "five more minutes! I don't want to go back yet," she said, clutching onto John as he chuckled at her childish antics. John wrapped his arms around her shoulders as Mia sighed into his embrace. The couple stared out towards the black sea for what felt like an eternity before John rubbed her arms._

" _Come on, let's go," he said as Mia sighed in defeat._

" _Fine."_

 _John laughed as he bent down and pressed a kiss to her lips as he slipped his hand into hers as he tugged her along with him. When John reached the door he noticed that Mia's hand slipped from his grasp._

" _Mia?" He called her name. He turned around, his blood running cold when he saw Mia standing on the railing facing him. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her hair and clothes blew in the fierce wind that had suddenly picked up. "Mia what are you doing?" John asked her desperately. Mia shook her head while she continued to sob._

" _You've abandoned me."_

" _No!" John shook his head as he took a step towards her, he could feel weight on his shoulders and chest, it was getting harder for him to breathe as he watched Mia stare at him with haunting eyes._

" _You let me die," she said. John tried to run to her but his feet were glued to the floor. "You didn't save me," her voice echoed all around._

" _Mia stop it!" John cried out to her. A large wave crashed into the city, spraying John with water as thunder and lightening crackled overhead._

" _You couldn't save Lyle. You didn't save my father. You didn't save Ford; and you didn't save me, John. You're worthless." John stared open-mouthed at Mia as she spoke. "You've let everyone die, John."_

" _I tried," John pleaded. Mia laughed darkly._

" _You didn't try hard enough! Now my body rots, and it's all your fault!" Mia screeched. John watched as Mia stepped back off the railing._

" _Mia no!" John felt his movement return to him as he leapt forwards, he braced himself against the railing and almost flung his body over it to try and catch her but he stalled when she had disappeared. With his arm outstretched John turned his head to look over his shoulder. Pain contorted on John's face when he saw Mia's body lifeless on the tiled floor. John dropped to the floor, holding his head and trying to shake this horrible dream away from him._

John shot up in his bed, sweaty and panting as he felt around his nightstand for his lamp. He switched it on, illuminating his dark room as he held his head and tried to calm his breathing. The sheets were bunched up around him and sticking to his body from his perspiration as he kicked them off and swung his feet over the side of his bed and planted them on the floor. He held his head in his hands as he shut his eyes to try and calm his racing heart. He felt his heart wrench every time he remembered his nightmare, he could still see Mia's lifeless body vividly. Her hair had been dripping wet, her face turned towards him with her eyes frozen open and her mouth parted in a scream. Her skin had been chalk white. John shook his head.

 _You let everyone die_.

The sentence echoed in his mind as he rubbed his face and balled his fists up at his sides. Even though it had been a nightmare, Mia had been right. John had let everyone die. He had sworn to not let anyone else die on his watch but he had been in Pegasus for over a year and he had now lost three more people.

He had lost Colonel Sumner and Mia's own father.

He had lost Aiden Ford.

And now Mia was gone. The one person he swore he would sacrifice his own life for, the girl he would do anything for, the girl whom he loved with all his heart and soul, and she was gone. John had failed her. Even though John couldn't shake the image from his mind, his breathing and heart rate had returned to normal as he collapsed back onto his bed and rubbed his face.

John thought back to when Kolya had infiltrated the city and had told him that he had killed Mia, it had hurt John then but now it was unbearable, the pain of losing a loved one. John turned his head to the side as he saw _War and Peace_ on his nightstand. He hadn't picked it up since being in the infirmary from the retrovirus as everything had been happening over the past weeks so he hadn't had time to read it. As he laid in bed, he knew that there was no way in hell that he would be going back to sleep, he reached over to the book and pulling it onto his lap. He stuck his finger where the bookmark was as he opened it up and frowned when something fell out of the page. John picked up the folded card and opened it up, freezing when he realized what it was.

It was the picture of him and Mia at their promotion ceremony; John thought he had lost it ages ago. He looked at the book once more and tried piecing everything together. The last time John remembered having it was when he and Mia had fought on the South Pier, he must've dropped it or something and Mia had picked it up. John remembered in his drug haze in the infirmary that he had sworn Mia had been by his side for a couple of minutes. He had been half asleep and just waking up when he had seen her back leave his closed off section. John hadn't thought anything of it as he assumed he had been either dreaming or hallucinating, but now he realized that she had returned it to him. John didn't know whether to rip the photo up or hold it close to him, it was a reminder of the thing he had lost but it also took him back to fonder memories and cherished thoughts. As he stared at the crinkled photo he admired Mia's beautiful face, committing every single detail to memory.

* * *

In the morning John laced up his boots and shrugged on his jacket slowly as he rubbed his eyes and yawned, he hadn't been able to fall back asleep since waking from his horrible nightmare the day before so he was extremely tired.

" _Colonel Sheppard please report to the control room, immediately,"_ he noticed the urgency in Chuck's voice over the comms system as John frowned, he was trying to think about what it could be as he strapped on his sidearm and left his room. He knew that there weren't any teams off world at the moment and for a split second John realized that maybe they had a lead on Mia. His previous sleepiness disappeared in an instant as he took off at a run for the control room.

He pushed passed a few scientists who expressed their annoyance but John paid them no heed as he ran up the stairs and into the control room. He beeline's it straight to Chuck and leans on the console in front of him.

"What's going on?" John asked Chuck as the technician pointed to Elizabeth's office. John followed his finger and frowned when he spotted Teyla and Elizabeth sitting at her desk with someone beside them. As John moved closer to the office he recognized the back of his head as Halling. His hope slowly diminished as he entered the office and cutting off the end of what Elizabeth had been saying to Halling.

"Colonel," Elizabeth said as Teyla and Halling both turned in their seats to greet John. John nodded to Halling and forced a smile for Teyla as he went and took a seat on the side of the room. Elizabeth turned her direction back to Halling. "Please, do continue."

"As I said the man came to the village where I was staying, his name is Talla and we've had dealings with him in the past year or so," Halling explained as Elizabeth turned to Teyla for input but she shrugged.

"I have not had any contact with this man."

"He explained to me that he knew we have been provided shelter by you and he wishes for a meeting to discuss an artifact he believes is of great importance to you," Halling continued.

"A ZPM?" John asked as Elizabeth, Teyla and John all shared a look together.

"He did not say, all he knows is that he took a great risk by getting it and believes that his life may be in danger if he does not receive protection."

"So he stole it?" John said, smirking at Halling. The two Athosian's in the room shrugged as Elizabeth rubbed her neck.

"Whatever it may be, I would like you and your team to check it out," Elizabeth said to John. Halling pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Elizabeth.

"This is the planet he will be waiting on," he said as John came and stood next to Elizabeth and read over her shoulder. He looked at the chevrons drawn on the paper but he didn't recognize the gate address.

"We'll gear up and be there in one hour," John said as Teyla bid farewell to Halling and followed John out of the room.

* * *

 **Phew! Ok, I know it wasn't exactly exciting because you guys don't get to find out what happened to Mia until next week...god I'm evil to you guys but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you didn't catch on, almost 6 weeks have passed since Mia's kidnapping, our poor girl. I'm not going to spoil anything but goddamn I can't wait until next week. And poor John and team, they're all missing her so much!**

 **Thank you everyone for threatening to kill me xD**

 **REPLIES**

 **thompsonmaria9** \- I'm imagining the little kitty poster with that written above it right now xD except with Mia's face on it hahah poor girl!

 **GoldenGod48** \- Yes, i'm guessing a lot of people hate me right now, I relish in it though xD My god you are persistant about these longer chapters hahaha! I'll think about it i can promise you that!

 **Julka212** \- Yep these cliffhangers, goddamn! Don't worry you'll all find out next week with what happened to her! Mia attempting to kill Ford was a little bit much but I guess if i was in her position i might have done the same thing, if i could stomach it that it! Thank you!

 **Adela** \- Hopefully he gets his ass into gear and comes swooping in to save the day! Thank you!

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Well, we didn't find out this week, but next week you'll all know what happened to her! Mia's a little smart cookie, but sometimes she can be a lil stupid!

 **See you all next week!**


	47. Emergence - Chapter 47

**Hey guys! Wow you guys are so amazing, I had so much feedback for the last chapter! All of you happy and begging for our fave couple to be reunited, well you don't have to wait long as their fateful reunion happens in this chapter! Thank you everyone and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

John's team arrived on the very rain forest dense planet, Rodney groaned at the rain falling from the sky as Teyla, John and Ronon surveyed the area.

"Look's clear," Ronon said to them as John sighed.

"Alright, well the note that Halling gave us said that the place was about five kilometers south of the gate," John said figuring out the direction they needed to walk in.

"It's that way," Rodney muttered, pointing to the left as John nodded and the four of them took off into the forest.

Large raindrops splattered onto Rodney's neck as he yelped and rubbed it, "Seriously, why did no one think to bring an umbrella?" He whined as Teyla rolled her eyes and John scoffed.

"Remind me to make a list next time," he said sarcastically as Rodney forced a laugh.

"Very funny, but it wont be funny when I come down with pneumonia."

"The only thing you'll be getting is a taped up mouth," John snipped back as Rodney fell silent.

The team walked for a couple of kilometers, Rodney's whining was spread out and didn't last longer than a couple of minutes at a time but it was still annoying. Ronon had placed himself at the very back of the group and tried to distract himself by staring off into the foliage but it didn't drown out Rodney's annoying voice. Teyla just accepted it and listened quietly and John had already mastered the art of ignoring the scientist.

"This is ridiculous," Rodney whined for the tenth time in the past hour.

"Well, keep complaining about it and we might get there faster," John replied back to him as he walked down a small slope.

"Couldn't we have met these people on a tropical beach planet populated by tall blonde women, hmm?" Rodney said in irritation.

"Whoever wants to speak with us obviously values their privacy," Teyla added from behind Rodney.

"Yes, well I value my time, and this is a waste of it," Rodney argued.

"What's a waste of time is listening to you, Rodney. This is the mission," John retorted, looking over his shoulder at him.

"Yeah, well it strikes me that this mission's better suited to one of the uh, lower echelon team," Rodney said spitefully.

"Lower echelon?" Ronon queried.

"He means to say less important," Teyla said to the Satedan as Ronon shook his head at Rodney.

"We got a tip from one of Teyla's contacts, we're following it up," John told Rodney, for the fifth time today.

"And this is what? The umpteenth tip we've followed up in search of a ZPM?" The scientist said sarcastically as Teyla shot him a look.

"Rodney," she said warningly.

"Look, I just want to make it clear that every second I am out of my lab is a second the galaxy goes without another ground-breaking—" Rodney was cut off as each one of them is hit in the back with a Wraith stunner. John goes down first and is unconscious before he even hits the ground.

* * *

When John comes round he knows that his hands are bound behind his back and it's dark, not because of it being nighttime but because there is something covering his head. His whole body is alive with pins and needles as he wriggles on the chair he is seated on. He can hear voices around him, they were men and muttering words that he couldn't quite understand yet, his ears were still ringing from the stunner that he took. His head was throbbing from the fall he had taken, he desperately needed to press the palms of his hands into his eyes to relieve the ache but he wasn't able to.

He heard footsteps around him as suddenly the hood covering his head was yanked off and light streamed into his vision. John blinked quickly and squinted, adjusting to the suddenly brightness as he quickly glanced around for his team. John was seated at the head of a long wooden table, with Rodney at his left looking around frantically and Teyla and Ronon on his right; both of them had their hoods removed and were calmly observing the men who had taken them captive.

"You guys ok?" John asked them.

"Oh yeah, fine," Rodney said worriedly as he eyed up their captors. John looked up at the man who seemed like the leader.

"Seems like a whole lot of trouble to go through just to get us to dinner," John said sarcastically, looking at the four plates that had been set in front of them. John made eye contact with Kanayo as he looked away from him, smugly. "Not a talkative bunch, are you?"

"We'll release you from your bindings if you promise not to attack us," Kanayo told John.

"Sure," Ronon said with an evil glint in his eye.

"Yeah, we promise," John said unconvincingly. Ronon was ready to fight an army with the look on his face as John surveyed their options of getting out alive. That was until they heard a laugh from behind them that was all too familiar. John felt his blood run cold as he looked over his shoulder and watched as Aiden Ford walking into the room. Ronon launches himself at Ford, remembering their previous encounter but one of the lackey's pushes him back down.

"Before we untie them, they have to know they're among friends," Ford said with a grin as he clasped his hands together. John recovered from his shock.

"Ford?" He still looked the same from when they had last seen him, but his hair had grown out slightly and his clothes were different.

"Thought I was dead, didn't you Sheppard?" Ford snipped at him, stopping by his chair. John was lost for words as he stared at the man whom he believed to be dead for nearly three months now.

"Well, you weren't exactly on my Christmas card list," John said sarcastically as Ford smirked and laughed.

"Still the same as ever, Sheppard," Ford commented as he looked to his men and nodded. Four men came forwards and cut the rope binding their hands as each team member rubbed their wrists.

Ford looked around at the members of the team. "Guys. Guys, please eat. Eat," he said encouragingly as he motioned to the food before them. Ford reaches passed Teyla and takes some food off of her plate and eats it, and looks at them to tell them silently that it's safe for them to eat. After a few seconds Ronon looks at his plate and picks it up, sniffing it and then dropping it back down on the table.

Rodney starts picking at his plate as John gives him a look.

"Wildmen, this used to be my team," Ford said to his men, he then points at Ronon with a smirk, "well, not this one, but I think he's ok too," Ford said as Ronon death stared him.

"What is all this?" John asked him impatiently. He really wanted to know why the hell Ford was doing this.

"Some local vegetables," Ford said, missing the point in John's question, "some sort of alligator thingy. It tastes like salted meat, it's good, try it," Ford said as he clamped his hand down on John's shoulder in a friendly gesture but John had the urge to shrug him off.

"I'm not talking about the food. What the hell is going on here?" John snapped at his former Lieutenant.

"Who are these men?" Teyla cut in, "And why bring us here like this?"

"Whoa," Ford said to Teyla, "that's a lot of questions," he said sarcastically.

"Pick one," Ronon growled at him as Ford turned his gaze on him. Ford's eyes scanned over the group as he chuckled.

"'Pick one'. That's good. Where'd you find him, Sheppard?" Ford asked John as he frowned. Did Ford not remember that he and Ronon had previously fought on the planet a couple of months ago?

"Maybe you should start with how you managed to escape being culled by the Wraith Dart, hmm?" Rodney said with a mouth full of food. John glared at him as Rodney shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'what? I'm hungry' and went back to eating. John turned his gaze back to Ford and was actually surprised when he nodded.

"Ok, the dart. I have no idea how long I was in the dart for. Next thing I knew I was on a cruiser, and I was awake," Ford said.

"It's the enzyme," Rodney cut in with his mouth still full. "Makes you almost immune to the Wraith stunner so when you're dematerialized from the Wraith Dart, you're awake opposed to, uh…" He trailed off.

"As opposed to dead," Ford finished for him. John was wondering that if Ford had died on the cruiser then maybe none of them would be in this mess right now. "I killed the Wraith standing over me. I cut open its enzyme pouch, took my fill, made my way off the ship. You can get around pretty easy on a Wraith ship. They're not used to people making it aboard, so there's next to no security. I took out another three Wraiths on that ship, took my fill and left. I walked off with enough enzyme to last me a little while. Tracked down the Stargate and dialed the first friendly address I could remember." Ford was pacing up and down the table as the four hostages listened closely to his story. John was analyzing their chances of breaking out of here and their survival.

"I took refuge in a small village, regained my strength and then started recruiting. I told them about the enzyme, how it makes you stronger, more aware, more resilient; how it's give us a fighting chance against the Wraith. I mean look at me. Look at me!" Ford ordered as John turned his head to look at Ford. Teyla, Ronon and Rodney paused from eating and looked over at him also. "I walked off a Wraith cruiser! It works!" Ford resumed his pacing and continued his story. "Kanayo and Jace were the first ones here to join me," Ford pointed the two men out. One tall and dark haired, the other small and sandy blonde. "Pretty soon I was recruiting three men a day, they all wanted to fight the Wraith and would do anything to get that wish."

"Wait a second," Ronon said, cutting off Ford's story. "All your people here, all your men, they're on the enzyme?" Ronon asked as he watched Ford walk over to Kanayo and place his hand on his shoulder.

"Of course, they knew the benefits of the enzyme," Ford said. "As our numbers grew, we needed more of the enzyme, so we had to come up with a plan and sustain ourselves with enough enzyme to go around. It was Jace who came up with the brilliant idea to capture live Wraith and farm their enzyme periodically," Ford said with a proud grin as Jace nodded.

John, Teyla, Rodney and Ronon looked around at each other with disgusted faces.

"Aiden" Teyla said slowly, "do you mean to tell us that there are live Wraith here, in this cave?"

"That's right," Ford nodded.

"The Wraith can communicate with each other over a distance," Teyla stated to him.

"But not between stars," Ford argued. "They'd have to be in this solar system, you taught me that," Ford pointed at Rodney as the scientist pulled a face.

"Yes, well, good for me," he muttered through chewing. Ford chuckled.

"What's the matter? They can't communicate if they're unconscious," he said sternly.

"Why'd you jump us?" John asked him, changing the subject.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry about that. It was the only way to get you here," Ford said with no hint of remorse.

"Why didn't you just tell us where you were? You know we would've come," John said to him.

Ford scoffed, "Yeah, you and a Special Ops team."

"No, no." John tried to argue but he knew in his heart he probably would've come with three other teams.

"I know you think I'm crazy," Ford said, "I brought you all here to show you that you're wrong. I mean do I look crazy?" Ford asked them as he stared at John. John met his gaze and even though he wanted to tell Ford that yes he had lost his goddam mind but he held his tongue. "Do I seem out of control?"

"Are we speaking in relative terms or, um…" Rodney asked as he still ate.

"Look, Jace here has really fine-tuned the enzyme. We know how to administer it now, how to regulate it, refine it. We've gotten so good, we can even lace food with it." Ford revealed as for a second there was silence in the room, and then all hell broke loose.

"Excuse me?" Rodney exclaimed as he stopped eating.

"Congratulations," Ford said as he leant on the table, "you've just had your first dose."

"What?" Rodney screeched as he spat out his food. Ronon picks out the food from his mouth that he had been chewing as Teyla looked murderous and John looked like he was trying very hard to keep his self-control.

"I thought long and hard about how to show you that the enzyme was safe, to convince you that it was the first step to defeating the Wraith," Ford looked down at John. "So you can convince Weir, convince the military."

Rodney jumps to his feet, "Are you out of your mind?" He bellows at Ford.

"Hey, settle down, McKay," Ford said trying to calm him.

"No, I will not settle down! I've been drugged against my will, you little punk!" Rodney shouted at Ford.

"You should not have done this, Aiden," Teyla told Ford with a stern glare. Ford simply laughed.

"Hey, be as mad as you want. Couple of days, you'll be thanking me. We'll have a good laugh about this. Now eat up." He ordered as he turned to leave the room. Ronon surged after him but two men shoved him back down into his chair and held a pistol to his forehead restrained him.

"I'm itchy. I'm itchy all over. This is exactly what happened when I smoked pot once in college," Rodney started muttering hysterically as John rose from his chair.

"Everyone stay put," he said to them as he turned and went to follow Ford out of the room. Two men blocked his path as he halted, staring at the back of Ford's head at the former Lieutenant titled his head to the side.

"Let him go," he ordered as the two men moved away and John marched through.

Ford led him into the other room as he stopped and turned to face John. "Ford, look. I know what you're trying to do. I get it, I do. But you're going about this all wrong. Weir isn't going to listen to us if we're all hopped up on the enzyme," John said, trying to reason with him.

"Your food was clean," Ford said monotonously. John reeled back in shock.

"Why? Why me?"

"You're going to be the witness. You're going to be the one to tell Weir that her most trusted team is taking the enzyme and is better because of it," Ford said. John wanted more than anything to shake some sense into his friend but he knew it wouldn't work; it was like talking to a brick wall. John sighed through his nose.

"Look, buddy. Why don't you come back with us, have Beckett look you over, huh? That's the best proof."

"No," Ford shook his head, "No I've thought this through. This is the plan."

"Look, I don't know what you're thinking—"

"Maybe this will affect your decision," Ford said, interrupting John as he turned and walked out of another door. John followed on a whim as Ford led him down corridors of the complex. John looked around at the people and the rooms they passed until they came to a lone metal door. There was a man standing guard with a stunner as Ford nodded to him and the other man brought out a set of keys and unlocked the door. John was confused and furrowed his brows as the door swung open and Ford stood back. "You'll probably want some time alone," he said with a sadistic smile as John cautiously moved into the room. His heart was hammering in his chest as he began to think about what could possibly be in this room. This small, dark room held something that John knew he had been looking for. John saw the lone light handing from the wall, and the wooden cot placed against the wall at the back of the room. He noticed a body sleeping on the cot, and he recognized the back of their head all too well.

John felt his whole body lock up, his heart missed a single beat then started to beat like a drum. His mouth parted.

"Mia."

* * *

I heard the door open loudly, I didn't move from my sleeping position even though I wanted to roll over and yell at them to let me out of here. I had been stuck in this goddam room for God knows how long, only getting out of here to have a shower in their makeshift bathrooms and go to the toilet every couple of hours or so. I was getting sick of this; some days I just wanted it all to end. I heard a voice by the door and footsteps entering my cell.

"Mia." A voice said as my eyes shot open. _I know that voice!_ I had to be dreaming, this wasn't real. I rolled over, pushing myself up onto my arms as I saw a man standing in the doorway.

"John?" I found my voice; it quivered as I felt a lump grow in the back of my throat as I stared at him. I had to be dreaming, he wasn't real right now. This was my mind playing tricks on me like it always did. But he looked so real…why was my mind so cruel to me? He looked exactly the same as he always did, messy dark hair and a wonderful strong body. I watched him walk to me as I kept his hazel gaze. I slowly stood from my bed, my back aching as I faced him. My gaze roamed all over his body, allowing myself to put this to memory for when he would disappear and I would be all alone again. I felt something warm touch my face gently, it caressed my cheek as I looked down and froze in shock when I saw it was his hand. He was touching me, he never did this in my dreams, and he would always disappear before I could get close enough to him. Then why…?

"Am I dreaming?" I whispered to him, I didn't expect him to answer, he never did. I shut my eyes, willing the tears to go away as I could feel them building up behind my lids.

"Mia, look at me," I heard him say. I opened my eyes again and blinked away the tears as I stared up at his face. "I'm here." He said as I hesitantly reached out with my hand. I aimed for his chest, waiting for him to disappear on me. Every time I tried to touch him in my dream he always left. I gasped when my hand made contact with his chest, I felt the warmth of his body underneath the palm of my hand and the erratic beating of his heart.

"John," I said in relief. I couldn't believe this; he was actually here! I felt a sob tear through my throat as I suddenly lost the ability to stand. My legs buckled, unable to support my weight as I collapsed to the floor on all fours. Tears spilled from under my lids as I sobbed on the floor. I could feel my heart ache, not in fear or desperation, but with love and relief and joy. My whole body was trembling as I felt a warm hand caress my cheek gently; I lifted my head, meeting his intense hazel gaze. I could see the love reflecting in his irises as I reached out and wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing my body against his, feeling my body mold against his as I cried into his shoulder. I felt one of his hands cradle the back of my head as his fingers tangled themselves in my messy locks, the other snaked around my thin waist, holding me so tightly; like he thought I would disappear on him.

"I thought I'd never see you again," John muttered, as I held onto him tighter. It broke my heart hearing him say that, he had been hurting just as much as I had, maybe even more.

"I knew you'd find me," I said to him as I titled my head to look up at him. His eyes were looking down at me, scanning over my face. One of his hands came up to my cheek once again as I saw John lower his head. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest as I met his lips in a searing kiss. I felt like my insides were about to explode, warmth spread through me as my body set alight from his skin on mine. My head felt like it was dancing up in the clouds as I dragged my fingers through his hair. I had missed this so much, I thought that I would die in this place, that I would never have the chance to see John again, to kiss him like this again. I could feel the tears leaking out from beneath my lids as John pulled my body against his so that we were practically one person.

John peppered kisses over my face, kissing my eyes, my chin, both cheeks and my forehead as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"I am so sorry, Mia. I never should've let you go," John said to me desperately as I frowned.

"This isn't your fault, John," I told him, I traced my finger over his lips, feeling the slight stubble and his warmth breath. "What matters now is that you're here, I knew that you would save me, I just had to hold on." I told him with a sad smile. By the look in his eyes I knew that he had been blaming himself for this. He caught my hand with his as he pressed a kiss to my palm, he placed his hand at the back of my head as he pulled me to him so he could kiss me on the forehead.

"I love you, Mia," he whispered to me as I smiled and leant on him.

"I love you," I said to him, and now I needed to apologize to him for everything. "I'm so sorry for everything I said and did, for Nathan; for breaking up with you. Being here, I realized that I couldn't live without you anymore, I don't want to, John. I love you so much and I'm so sorry that I hurt you," I said, I could feel the tears flowing once more as I hastily wiped them away. John captured my lips in another kiss as it took my breath away. He pulled away.

"I don't care about any of that anymore, I'm just happy you're safe. I've spent the past six weeks thinking that I'd have to live without you—"

"Six weeks!" I interrupted him, my mouth dropping open in shock, as John suddenly looked furious.

"Wait, you have no idea how long you've been gone?" John asked me. I shook my head.

"Ford's been keeping me locked up in here the entire time. Honestly it feels like it's been years since I was taken," I admitted to John as his hand sought out mine. He linked our fingers together as tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"We're all going to get out of this, I'll get you home, I promise." John said to me as I smiled.

"Hate to break up this moment but…" I recognized Ford's voice as John spun around and shot up onto his feet again, he pulled me up with him and then positioned himself so that he was slightly in front of me; his arm held out in front of me as I peeked around his arm to glare at Ford. He was leaning in the doorway, looking casual as I looked him over, it was the first time I was seeing him again since my failed attempt at killing him.

"How could you do that to her? Keep her locked up in here?" John growled at Ford. Ford chuckled and pushed off the door.

"It was for my men's protection as well as my own, seeing as she tried to kill me twice, she would've succeeded had I not taken precautions because, after all, this is Mia we're talking about," Ford said flippantly as I felt John tense up in front of me. He was no doubt stunned to hear that I had tried to take his life.

"Why do this to her? She's your friend, the only one who tried to save you time and time again," John demanded, I felt his hand grip the front of my shirt, I could tell that he wasn't taking any chances, seeing as last time the three of us had all been together again, Ford had tried to shoot us and then run into a Wraith beam.

"It's because of her that you guys are here in the first place. At first I wanted Mia for myself, but then I realized that her love for you would never leave and I didn't want to force myself on her, I wanted her to come to me of her own free will. And after she tried to kill me I knew she would never. So I was going to use her as bait, for you Sheppard. But plans fell through and now she's the perfect bargaining chip." Ford explained as I felt my expression darken. I could feel the dark waves emanating off John as Ford spoke, he was furious. "Here's the deal. Mia you be a good little girl and do what I say and I'll let you leave this room. If you try anything at all, I'll kill Sheppard and the rest of your team. Sheppard, if you try anything I'll kill Mia and have you watch, deal?" I pressed my lips into a firm line. John surged forwards but I gripped onto his arm and yanked him back to me.

"Don't," I said to John as he turned his head to look down at me, his expression softened when he looked at me as I turned my gaze onto Ford. "Deal." I told him as Ford nodded, the smirk still lingering on his lips.

"Good. You're all free to roam around the base," he said as he turned and walked out of the room. I let go of the breath and tension I had been holding as I slumped against John's back. I realized something that Ford had said.

"He said team, are the others here?" I asked John as he turned around, he nodded as I felt my spirits lift and also dampen at the fact that Ford had taken us all captive.

"Yeah, we're all here," he said to me. "They're all going to be relieved that you're here." He said with a grin as I returned his smile.

"Let's get out of here, I can't wait to see them," I said as John nodded. He took my hand and led me out of the room.

Before we entered the dining room that I remembered I halted with John and looked down at our linked hands. He followed my gaze, the understanding came over his face but he stepped closer to me.

"Mia, I don't want to hide this from them, we can trust them. If they don't know, Ford can use it to his advantage against us," he explained to me as I sighed.

"I know—but, it's just I don't want them to know _here_. It's not exactly the most ideal place for us to reveal this to them. Let me just see them first, and then we'll tell them," I bargained with him as John nodded.

"Ok." He agreed as he bent his head and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. I savored it for as long as I could before he pulled away and allowed me to enter first.

* * *

Teyla was the first one who spotted me. She had been standing behind Ronon's chair while Rodney paced back and forwards on the other side of the room.

"Mia!" she exclaimed in relief as I watched Ronon and Rodney's heads snap over to my direction. Teyla broke out into a brilliant smile as she ran over to me; I opened my arms as she hugged me tightly as I returned it. She pulled back and held me at arms length. "I am thrilled to see you alive and well," she said as I grinned at her.

"Same here, I'd thought you guys would never get here," I told her as Ronon rose from his chair and Rodney came over to me. He was trying not to show it but I could tell he was pleased to see me.

"I didn't think for a second that you were dead," Rodney commented as he crossed his arms over his chest. I laughed. "Good to see you aren't though," he added.

"It's good to see you too, Rodney. I missed you all," I said to them as I faced Ronon. The Satedan looked slightly uncomfortable but happy to see me, which made me feel all the more rotten for how I had treated him. "Ronon I—I'm sorry for the way I treated you, you didn't deserve it and it's my fault that you're all here now." I apologized to him as I looked around at the team.

"This isn't your fault, Mia," Teyla tried to soothe me but I shook my head.

"No, it is. I've been waiting for him to bring you all here."

"What are you talking about?" John asked from behind me. I sighed through my nose.

"I didn't want to say anything while Ford was near but…when Ford brought me here, he wanted me to fix a Wraith Dart, and I told him I couldn't."

"But you can," Rodney butted in as I nodded.

"I know. But I didn't know what would happen to me if I fixed it, there was no way in hell that he would let me leave here, so I told him I couldn't fix it. I knew that if he thought I couldn't fix he he'd try and get the next best thing," I sent a smirk to Rodney as he rolled his eyes. "He told me that he originally wanted us all here, but he only took me because I was on a different team. But it wasn't enough, I knew that even if I stayed here he would try to persuade me to fix the dart or put me on the enzyme, so I had to show him that there was no way I would help him."

"You tried to kill him," John put the pieces together from what Ford had told him. I saw the shock on the others' faces at learning I had tried to kill my former best friend.

"By me trying to kill him solidified the fact that he needed someone else to help him. I knew I just had to wait for him to bring you all here, I knew I'd have a better chance of getting out of here with all of you here with me then just by myself."

"That's brave," I heard Ronon say as I smiled up at him, he was still slightly emotionless but I could see that he admired my courage.

"And smart, I never would've thought of that." Rodney commented as I chuckled.

"Ronon's right," Teyla said as she smiled proudly at me, "that's a very brave thing you did, not just to try and escape, but to stay here knowing that it might've been a long time until we found you."

"It was hard," I admitted to her, "I thought some days that I would never get out of here, I'd never see any of you again, but here you are," I said to them.

"Ford said that we're free to roam around, what's all that about?" John asked me as I turned around to face him and shrugged.

"No idea, he didn't do it for me, as soon as I got here I was placed under guard."

"Well then we should make a break for the Stargate, get off of this planet while we still have a chance," Rodney said desperately. He went to hurry off as I grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Don't, its no use," I told him as he halted. "I tried that, but Ford's taken the control crystals out of the DHD."

"That little bastard!" Rodney grumbled. "I taught him how to do that."

"Don't beat yourself up about it Rodney," I said to him sympathetically.

"Ok, why don't we just take them?" Ronon said under his breath. "All we've got to do is get our hands on one stunner. I can take them all."

"Maybe," John said to him as I cautiously looked around us in case someone was near and listening to our conversation, "but if we mess it up, whatever trust we might have been given will disappear."

"You want to make them trust us?" Teyla asked John in disbelief.

"We play it cool," he said optimistically. "Let them get comfortable. They're bound to make a mistake."

Teyla placed her hands on her hips and looked at John angrily, I've never seen her look this annoyed at him before. "And in the meantime?"

"We play along," John offered as my eyebrows rose into my hairline. Teyla rolls her eyes at him as he looks from her to Ronon and Rodney. "How are you guys feeling?" He asked them as I frowned, what was wrong with them?

"I didn't eat that much, I feel fine," Ronon replied.

"Perhaps if we were able to fast, they would be unable to administer the enzyme," Teyla said as I reeled back in shock.

"Ford put you on the enzyme?" I asked them all.

"Just them three," John told me, as I looked away, disgusted. "Anyway, I don't think they'd have a problem forcing us."

"Yeah, well I ate my face off and I can tell you, I can feel it working," Rodney muttered.

"There's a good possibility that everything you're feeling at the moment might be psychosomatic," John teased as Rodney glared at him.

"Oh, is that right, Professor Science? Is that your expert opinion?" Rodney snapped at him.

"Yes, it is," John said playfully.

"Well, I can tell you when they up the dosage, the side effects will be very real and very unpredictable," Rodney argued as I stepped next to him.

"You've just got to try and stay calm, freaking out about the enzyme is only going to make you worse." I told him as Rodney grumbled under his breath.

* * *

It was a few hours later; the five of us were still waiting in the large chamber. John sat at the head of the table while I sat on top of it on his right. Rodney, Ronon and Teyla were pacing erratically around the room. They had all been slowly declining into madness by the hour and I could tell that the enzyme was starting to affect their system badly.

"Seriously, I'm getting, I'm getting uh, chills and hot flashes, chills and hot flashes again and again. None of you are feeling that?" Rodney asked impatiently as he fiddled with his hands. I watch as Ronon storms over to John and leans down near his ear, his expression was murderous.

"The enzyme's effects are going to be the least of his concerns if he keeps this up," I heard him growl as John sighed.

"I know, just be patient," John offered as Ronon sends him a look and shrugs off his jacket. This indicated to me that he was starting to feel the effects of the drug.

"Historically, that hasn't been a strength for me."

"I know," John said through gritted teeth.

I heard footsteps to my right as I looked over my shoulder and saw Ford entering the chamber. He met my gaze briefly then turned it to John.

"Sheppard, Teyla! Kanayo's running a mission off world. I want you to go with him," Ford ordered as I saw John try not to lock his jaw.

"Why?" He questioned.

"We're running an op. thought you might want to see the men in action." Ford explained as John met my gaze briefly. I could tell that my face probably showing fear and panic at him leaving me from the reassuring look he sent me.

"Sure, whenever you need us." He agreed. Teyla leaned down on the table as she eyed up Ford.

"Just give us some weapons and—" Ford cut off her not so subtle persuasion.

"Nice try," he said with a smirk. "No, you're going to hang back and watch with Kanayo. Don't worry—you won't be in any danger."

"That's a load off my mind," John muttered sarcastically.

"Good," Ford barked. Rodney walked up to Ford as I slowly got off the table and stood next to John's chair.

"What about us?" Rodney asked, pointing to Ronon and I.

"Jace will give you the grand tour, show you what we've done with the place. How's that sound?" Ford said bitterly as Rodney pulled a face.

"That sounds delightful." He said sarcastically. Ford chuckled.

"Good, good. Then if Colonel Sheppard tried anything off world, you'll be nice and close for me to kill you three," Ford said darkly as I ground my teeth together.

"Can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon," Rodney said indifferently as he shuffled back towards me and slumps down into the empty chair. Kanayo pulls out his pistol and aims it at Teyla.

"Move," he snapped at her with a glare. I frown at Ford, hoping for him to see that I was pissed off with how he was treating my team. He spared a glance at me but met John's gaze.

"Looks like he's itching to go." Ford said as John rose from the table. He looked over his shoulder at me and I saw the longing and worried look in his eyes; I could tell that he wanted to stay here with me so that I wouldn't be left alone with Ford again but we had to follow Ford's rules. If we didn't all of us would die. I watched John walk near Ronon and as he did he leant into the Satedan and muttered something to him quietly that no one else heard. Ronon nodded as John left, Teyla following behind him with a almighty glare and then Kanayo brought up the rear.

Ronon had his gaze fixed on Ford as I walked over to Ronon with Rodney as the scientist walked out of the room before me, I looked over my shoulder to see Ronon picking up his coat and tipping over the chair with a loud clatter as Ronon met my gaze. He was silently telling me to walk as I nodded, spun around and marched out of the room.

* * *

 **Woop! So I hope everyone is happy that our fave loved up pair are now back together! I know I am, it was torture writing them apart, le sigh. But they aren't out of the woods yet, we've got a bit more before they'll be in the sanctuary of Atlantis and allowed to really make up ( _if you catch my drift)_**.

 **Thank you everyone for the feeback last chapter, I hope their reunion was worth it, although I imagined them doing a sort of Baywatch slow mo running to each others open arms i highly doubt that these two would've done that xD**

 **REPLIES**

 **teekee hut** \- Thank you, yeah I had this all planned out literally since the stories conception and I always imagined to have it mostly in 3rd POV to give that little more insight, it's such a relief to finally have it out there now. Oh man I'm glad i timeskipped too, I couldn't handle much of writing sad Mia and sad John.

 **GoldenGod48** \- omg this review had me cracking up! Thanks so much i'm so honored you think that! ( _making sure that i never ever reveal where i live)_

 **thompsonmaria9** \- They never gave up, but it looks like the didn't have to wait long yay!

 **Sheppardlover928** \- At least you found out this chapter! She's ok, just a little pissed off, and when i say little i mean a lot; well, who wouldnt after being locked up for six weeks! Hope you enjoyed!

 **Adela** \- Yes! John is her knight in combat boots!

 **Guest 64** \- We all love a good cliffy here and there xD Hope you enjoyed!

 **Julka212** \- hahah nope it was left to your imagination for a week to figure out what happened to our favourite heroine! What a coincidence that the moment they were about to give up they got their lucky break...well i wouldnt say it was lucky but at least Mia is alive and reunited with her old team again!

 **LoveStoryFanatic** \- That's ok! I love having new readers! It makes me so happy knowing that there are still lots of people out there who love and miss the show! Kudos to you for powering through 43 chapters xD It's a lot of words to read! Yeah I have a feeling that Nathan might be in for a nasty surprise when Mia gets back to Atlantis! Thank you!

 **Crystal Reynolds** \- Haha every friday my friend! Here is the next chapter, hope you enjoyed!

 **Lucy** \- I hope this satisfies you with their long awaited reunion, and coupling status once more! Hopefully they get out of this unscathed!


	48. Emergence - Chapter 48

**Hey guys! SO i'm glad everyone is so excited that the two are back together! Finally right? It only had to take her being kidnapped to figure it out xD Even though they're together they aren't out of the woods yet, and something a lil exciting happens in this chapter, you'll all know when you read it! Enjoy guys and as always thank you to all the readers and reviewers!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

Rodney was pacing in the room that had served as my bedroom for a good couple of hours before I was imprisoned in the cell for six weeks, he was muttering to himself as I sat on the bed with my head tilted back on the wall. Ronon was a few feet away, leaning back on the wall and staring at the floor.

"What if we never get out of here? And we have to start living like cannibals? I mean I love meat, there's no question about that but I don't think I'd be able to stomach human flesh and if there's no food then I'm going to stave and if I starve then I'm going to die!—"

"Rodney!" I snapped at him, he stumbled in his pacing and looked over at me. "Please, for the love of God; shut up." I said to him as I rubbed my forehead. He had been like that non-stop since we had entered the room and I had finally had enough. I watched as Rodney nodded but then resumed his pacing, he began to mutter to again but this time it was quieter and I couldn't hear him, which was fine with me for the moment.

I looked up when someone entered the room; it was Jace. I smiled at him as Rodney and Ronon turned their attention upon him. "Ford said to come and get you for the tour of the compound, he said you enjoy seeing my lab." Jace said as I saw Rodney perk up immediately.

"Lab? As in…Science lab?" Jace nodded to him. "Well lead the way," Rodney said as Jace looked over at Ronon and me.

"I'm good," I said as Ronon nodded in agreement. Jace smiled at me in a polite way as Rodney followed him out eagerly. A few seconds after they were gone Ronon came over and sat down on the edge of the bed. I looked at him with a quizzical expression.

"You trust that guy?" He asked me. I frowned.

"Who? Jace?" I asked. Ronon nodded. "I guess. I mean he's still on the enzyme and follows Ford's orders but he's a nice person. He wouldn't hurt Rodney or anyone else for that matter, it's not who he is," I explained to him but Ronon still didn't seem convinced. "He helped me while I was here. I attacked Ford and he broke my knuckle, Jace came and wrapped it for me. And ever since I was locked up he was the only nice person who treated me like a human being, he would come and visit me everyday, just talk to me and bring me my food. I don't know why he did it but I'm glad he did; he's a good man." I said. Ronon seemed to accept this as I found it strange that he was being this nice to me after everything I had said to him. In fact I think this was the longest we had ever talked. I laughed through my nose as Ronon stared at me. "I'm just amazed that you don't hate me," I said to him, shrugging.

"I only hate the Wraith, and your friend here." He said with a frown as I looked away and leaned my head back on the wall.

"He's not my friend, not anymore. He died a long time ago." I mumbled sadly as I could feel Ronon's eyes on me.

The situation had turned completely awkward so I sprung up from the bed. "Ok, well I'm going to go and stretch my legs, get a feel for this place again." I told him as I headed to the door. I heard Ronon rise from the bed as I looked over my shoulder and watched him follow me.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want to," I told him as Ronon crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sheppard said to watch you." He stated as I felt my mouth part open in surprise, but then again. Did I really expect John to just leave me here without him having some sort of plan?

"You don't have to, I can handle myself." I said to him as I turned to leave. I heard Ronon follow once more as I sighed and faced him once more, placing a hand on my hip.

"Sheppard said to watch you," he repeated with a smirk as I sighed and waved him over.

"Fine, let's go."

* * *

Ronon and I walked around the compound as I recognized places that I had seen from before my capture. We had passed by the lab where Rodney was with Jace and I could see that Jace was showing Rodney all the information he had on the Wraith that he had told me all about when I was imprisoned. After we left I decided to show Ronon the sparring area, I could tell from the tense look in his shoulders and the way his jaw was clenched that the enzyme was staring to affect him. Ronon had a short fuse without the drug, who knows what would happen if someone got him mad. Besides, it might be good for Ronon to show off his skills to the men here and show them that he is a threat and shouldn't be messed with.

Ronon followed me into the large cavern as my eyes were immediately drawn to Ford who was sparring with two of his men. Just as Ronon and I come to a stop at the edge of the space as I watch Ford land a hit on one of his men that looked like it could've broken his jaw and then stands from crouching over the body.

"That's better. You guys still need to work together. You're stronger as a team," Ford said as I crossed my arms.

"I could've told you that." I said bitterly as Ford looked over at us as he adjusted the straps on his hands. Ford scoffed as his gaze went from me to Ronon.

"You want to spar a little?" He asked Ronon as the brute next to me continued to glare at Ford without moving or saying anything. Ford looks away for a second and then smirks. "We're cool, right? You're not holding a grudge or anything?" I wanted to punch him then and there. Ronon wasn't the one holding a grudge; the person who was, was standing right here. "I did save your life." Ford stated.

"I remember," Ronon finally spoke; it was more of a growl.

"You know, it's funny," Ford said with a smile, "You ask a dozen people who they thought would win in a fight between you and me, people would choose you hands down." He paused for a second, "Hell, I'd even choose you. But we went toe to toe." Ford said as he gave him a sly look.

"Yeah, we did." Ronon said as I watched his expression change. It was like he wanted to fight Ford now.

"Until Sheppard and Mia showed up." Ford said, glancing down to look at me for a second.

"So I guess it's still undecided." Ronon said with a hint of a smirk. Ford rolled his eyes at him.

"Look, all I'm saying is, why'd you think I was able to fight you like that? It's the enzyme. Look what it did for me, imagine what it could do for you. I'm not the bad guy here, Ronon. I'm just trying to help. You'll come around, I know you will." Ford looked smug as he looked down at me. "How about you, fancy a spar now that your hands all healed up?" He asked me as I frowned at him.

"No." I stated as Ford scoffed.

"Come on, Mia, for old times sake?" He asked as I kept my gaze firmly on his.

"She said no." Ronon cut in as I found myself staring up at his tall frame. His look looked murderous as Ford slowly moved his mismatched eyes up to him.

"What are you? Her bodyguard?" Ford asked.

"Might as well be," Ronon replied. I could see from their glares that if I didn't get Ronon out of here there was about to be a fistfight, and I wouldn't be able to stop it. Instead I pulled on Ronon's arm and dragged him out of the room, all the while Ronon kept his angry gaze of him until he was finally out of view.

I walked until we were out of earshot, I released Ronon's arm as I turned to him.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that." I said to him. Ronon folded his arms across his chest.

"I knew a guy like him once, who betrayed his friends. He was my commander, and when the Wraith attacked my planet, he sent people to their deaths to make his own escape." Ronon's words weighed on my mind. I could see the similarities that Ronon mentioned, but Ford hadn't killed anyone, yet.

"What…what happened to him?" I asked softly, weaving my fingers in the tattered shirt I wore.

"I killed him." Ronon stated as I met his gaze. I felt like Ronon was trying to tell me something, but had I not tried to kill Ford already? Maybe this was why I was here, right now, to end this madness.

"Let's go wait for the others," I told him as he nodded and followed me.

* * *

I was lying down on the bed in the room from before, it was nighttime and I couldn't sleep. John and Teyla weren't back yet and I was starting to get worried. Ronon was sitting at the table, his head slumping ever so slightly, causing me to smile when I realized that he was falling asleep. The enzyme must be taking affect of his body; even such a little dose was affecting him. I was drumming my fingers on the wall as I counted all the seconds. I could hear Rodney's loud snores from the other side of the room, he was sprawled out on another bed with drool down the side of his cheek as I sighed heavily and went back to worrying.

It was a little while later when I heard people enter the room as I sat up and looked towards the entrance. A grin and a relived sigh escaped my lips when I saw John and Teyla entering the room.

"You're safe," I said breathlessly as I pushed myself up off the bed and hurried over to the pair. I wanted to hug John tightly and never let him go again but I remembered that Teyla and the others were still here.

"Anything happen while we were gone?" John asked me, I could hear the double meaning in his tone, he was asking me if Ford had tried anything. I shook my head.

"No, we're ok. How about you guys? What happened?" I asked them both. Teyla had a concerned look and John rubbed his forehead.

"Well, lets just say that we'll be planning a little holiday soon."

I frowned at him, "What?"

"He wants us to help him destroy a Wraith Hive ship." John said as I reeled back.

"What!" I screeched. I heard Rodney snort loudly and mumble something as I heard him get up. I heard a thump coming from the table where Ronon had been sitting.

"What's going on?" Rodney mumbled, still half asleep as he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"We're all going to get killed is what's going on!" I exclaimed to him.

"Look," John said, using the tone I recognized the one to calm me down. "I know this is a pretty crappy situation we're all in right now. But if we want to get out of here we need to play along with them. Make them trust us. Ford said that he'd brief us all tomorrow about what's going on so I suggest we all get some sleep." John said as Rodney nodded and immediately went back to his bed and collapsed on it. Ronon and Teyla shared a look as they both made themselves comfortable on the spare beds. John and I shared a look as I tried to smile but failed. I didn't want to be here anymore, I just wanted to go home. John seemed to understand me as he sighed and nodded. I spun around on my heel and shuffled over to my bed and lay down on it. I faced the table where John took a seat and faced himself so that he was staring at me. I fell asleep feeling his watchful eyes on me the entire night.

* * *

"One of the added bonuses of killing a Wraith is, every now and again you get your hands on one of these," Ford addressed us the next morning, he held up the Wraith data device I recognized from our Genii mission. The five of us were sitting around the large table; Rodney was on my right with Teyla and Ronon across from me, and John to my left at the head of the table. "Now thanks to Jace and some of the computers that we borrowed from the Genii, we've been able to figure out the exact flight path of one of their hive ships."

"It's decimating all inhabited worlds in its path." Jace said from beside Ford.

"It has to be stopped." Ford said with a fierce nod. I watched as Jace pointed to a small dot on the screen of the computer.

"I've been able to calculate that, in the next several days, it will be forced to make a hyperspace pause very near an uninhabited planet that happens to have a Stargate." Jace explained. Good, a few more days here and then we were free.

"We gate to that planet, get on the Hive ship, plant the C4 in the dart bay, and get out," Kanayo added with a nod.

"That simple, huh?" I muttered with a sneer.

"We could save thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of lives." Jace stated. Ford looked around at the five of us.

"So?"

"Wow," John muttered, leaning back in his chair.

"'Wow'?" Ford echoed in disbelief.

"You heard me."

"Let me see if I can couch what Colonel Sheppard means by 'wow' in more explicit terms," Rodney said sarcastically but with a unusual beat in his voice for this time of the morning, "That this is a terrible plan."

"Rodney." Teyla warned.

"Made all the more frightening by that fact that you think it's a good plan." Rodney continued. Ford looked offended.

"What's wrong with it?" He asked.

"What's right with it?" Rodney countered, "Look, let's just for a second give into the reckless abandon and assume that it will be possible to plant a single charge large enough to destroy an entire hive ship."

"We're planning on secondary explosions in the dart bay," Jace stated. Rodney still didn't seem convinced.

"Regardless, the hive ship will be on a hyperspace pause, yes, but it will not enter the planets atmosphere, nor will it take up any sort of stable orbit. It will be flying through space, which means that unless your enzyme allows you to jump much higher than you've let on—"

"We've got a spaceship," Ford interrupted as suddenly everything fell into place. This was why Ford wanted the dart fixed. I met gazes with John as he seemed to understand also. A look over at Teyla reaffirmed that she had also figured it out.

"Oh yeah? Really?" Rodney crossed his arms as he sent Ford a pointed look. "What's it made out of, bark?" Ford scoffed and smirked.

"No, it's real, McKay. In fact, it's the only ship I'd feel comfortable using on a mission like this."

Ford took us outside. I breathed in deeply the smell of fresh air as I walked at the back of the group, wanting to take my time out here before we were forced back inside the compound. I watched the others walking and talking quietly to themselves as Jace hung back beside me, we didn't speak to each other but it was nice that even after everything we held some sort of friendship. I silently watched Rodney, Teyla and Ronon to see if anymore of the enzyme had begun to affect them. It had been early this morning when Ford's men had come barging in and injected them all with it into their arms. It seemed that Ford wasn't really playing nice anymore. By my guesses they'd probably be getting another injection later today, I just hoped that they would all still retain their common sense.

I recognized where we were going; we were heading to where the dart was. I stopped next to John as I watched as some of the men pulled off the tarp and revealed the ship.

"Where'd you get it?" John asked Ford as the man turned around and shrugged.

"Does it matter?"

"None of us have had much success flying it. Banged it up pretty bad the last couple of landings. It's in need of some repairs that your little friend over there said she couldn't do," Kanayo said as he pointed to me. I glared at him angrily.

"She wouldn't have been able to fix it anyway, she's not that smart." Rodney added as I sent him a disbelieving look.

"Thanks, Rodney." I said it sarcastically but I actually meant it. Rodney was adding to my story that I told them I couldn't fix the dart. It was a pretty smart for him.

"It also needs a pilot." Ford said to John as I watched him nod his head, understanding washed over his face.

"This is why you brought us here." He stated.

"It's the reason I waited until now, yes."

"Assuming that this guy can get it working, huh Mia?" Kanayo said as he smacked Rodney's arm and stared at me. "You were the one who did say that he could fix it."

"He can," Ford butted in. "These people are the best at what they do."

"Look you fly it," Kanayo said, turning to John. "You scoop us up, take us to the hive, you drop us off. All we need is time to lay the charge. We'll be in and out of there before the Wraith have any idea what's going on."

"It's perfect." Ford agreed.

"It is far from perfect." Rodney argued.

"But…" John said hesitantly as all gazes turned to him, including me. "It is possible." I felt my jaw drop.

"Colonel?" Teyla enquired.

"Are you honestly considering this?" Rodney asked him, aghast.

"It's on it's way to a culling, Rodney," John said simply. I was too shocked to speak out against this.

"Yeah, and I am sorry about that, but this is insane!"

"Maybe not," John retorted.

"Jace has been trying to get it working, but he's not you, McKay. Can you fix it?" Ford asked Rodney as the scientist crossed his arms.

"No, probably not."

"That usually means yes," John said with a grin. Rodney turned to John with a agitated look.

"Aren't you the one not taking the enzyme? You're supposed to be the clear voice of reason here," Rodney argued.

"Look, can you fix it?" Ford asked him again.

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. I'm sorry, drug me all you want, I'm not doing this!" Rodney exclaimed as he stormed off in the opposite direction. Teyla, Ronon and myself watched him go.

"Let me talk to him," John announced, "He'll come around." I continued to stare after John as he chased after Rodney, and I wondered just what the hell he was trying to accomplish with this.

* * *

It was a few days later and we were still locked in the hell hole Ford calls a base. Rodney, Jace and myself had been working on repairing the dart while Teyla and Ronon worked on their fighting abilities and John worked with Ford devising a plan to infiltrate the Hive. As the repairs were coming to a close I could sense John's tension, he was worried about Teyla and Ronon. Ford had been injecting them with the enzyme that past three days, three times a day. Once in the morning, during the day, and then at night and it was quickly becoming obvious that they had become unstable. John had convinced Ford that Rodney shouldn't be put on much but that still didn't mean Rodney didn't get injected. He just got one big dose in the middle of the day. Even though I knew John was going to double cross Ford and get us out of here, I was worried that either Teyla or Ronon might compromise us if they slipped up because of the drug.

I rubbed my forehead as I walked through the compound; we were so close to getting here I could just picture Atlantis. To be sleeping next to John once more, seeing all my friends again. My heart raced when I thought of my grandfather, he had been notified of my kidnapping and my presumed dead status, I couldn't wait to see him, I know that's he'd be devastated about my death. And Emily also, I couldn't forget about Emily, my long lost half-sister. I made the decision a while ago that when I returned to Earth next I would visit her and announce myself to her mother so that Emily didn't have to hide about her lineage anymore.

I walked into the training area just as a body slammed onto the floor, I jumped and looked up as I watched Ford pull the other man up and clap him on the shoulder.

"Good, you're getting better," he said to him as the man nodded and walked off. Ford noticed me standing here as he went to his water canister on the table and poured it into his mouth. He wiped the stray droplets from his chin and motioned to the area. "You can stand there all you want and say you don't want to spar with me, but I can see it in your eyes, Mia." He commented as I continued to stare at him blankly.

"What do my eyes say?" I asked him as I crossed my arms and stepped closer to him. Ford smirked.

"That you really want to hit me, so go ahead! See if you can?" Ford teased me as I ground my teeth together hard. "I'll even let you have the first swing," he said mockingly as I glared at him.

"I'm not stupid, Ford. I know that I can't beat you. I'm not going to play your little game."

"Who says I'm playing a game?" Ford asked childishly as he stepped in front of me. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"It's all you do, Ford. This whole thing is a big game to you!" Ford chuckled at me as I scoffed and pushed passed him. I felt him catch my wrist as I turned, grabbing his wrist and twisting it painfully. I turned my glare onto him once more but I when I saw that his face was perfectly calm and that I hadn't hurt him at all from my attack I jumped away from him like he had burned me.

"Just like old times, huh?" Ford muttered quietly as I shook my head.

"We can never have old times again." I stated to him.

I heard someone clear their throat as Ford and I both looked to the entrance where I saw John standing. His eyes were darting from between the both of us, even though I had jumped back a good foot away from him we were still pretty close, and having a very intense stare off as well.

"The darts ready." John said to us. I nodded and hurried over to his side. When I reached him I made sure that no one else was around as I wrapped my arm around his back and hugged his side. John's arm came to rest on my hip as he held me tightly to him. Ford and John were now staring each other down and I had a feeling that if one of them didn't leave they'd both start beating their chests and dance around me.

As if Ford could read my mind he smirked to himself and shook his head as he approached us, I held my breath, waiting for either one of them to say anything to each other.

"Well then, we should head out then. We've got a hive ship to blow up." Ford said as he left the room. Well, that was certainly strange; he's missed an opportunity to mock our relationship, I wonder what made him stop now?

Once Ford was far enough away I released the breath I had been holding and slumped into John's side, his grip slackened but was still firm as he rubbed soothing circles on my arm, with his other hand he took my hand in his as he linked our fingers together.

"Are you ready?" He asked me as I sighed heavily.

"Ready to go home." I replied sadly. John pressed a kiss to my hairline.

"I know, we'll be home soon." He promised me as I leaned my head into the crook of his neck.

"I just hope this works." I muttered quietly as I felt John nod.

"So do I," he agreed.

* * *

We all met outside where Ford gave us our weapons and gear. It felt good to be zipping up the vest and clipping on my p-90 again as I looked over and met John's gaze. He was doing the same but I could see the nervousness on his face, he was worried that his plan wasn't going to work; I really hoped it did.

Teyla and Ronon seemed to be a bit more levelheaded right now, their last dose had been a few hours ago and for them it was worse when they had just been injected and can feel the effects working. Teyla was standing near me as she too zipped up her jacket. Rodney beckoned over John to the dart as I watched him climb up and into the dart as Jace climbed up and was looking in. Rodney saw this and hurried over, barking something at him as Jace got down and Rodney climbed up to talk to John. Ford appeared and walked over to the dart, I was too far away to hear what they were saying but Rodney looked nervous as he climbed down and went to collect his gear. I could see Teyla watching him, trying to silently tell him to calm down otherwise he was going to let slip the plan.

"Kanayo!" Ford called out. Just as I turned to see what the hell Ford was going on about I suddenly had two guns pointed at me as I froze and glanced at the others. Teyla was frozen to her spot and Ronon had unsheathed his sword and waved it menacingly. Rodney was whimpering with his hands in the air and two men had guns trailed on John up in the dart.

"Don't even think about it." Kanayo warned to Ronon as the two had a stare down.

"What the hell are you doing?" John demanded from Ford. Well, I honestly felt like an idiot, not seeing this coming. Did I really think that it was going to be this easy for me to get home? Not by a long shot.

"McKay's going to stay here while we do the op," Ford announced. He nodded to his men. "Take him!" The men surrounding Rodney take his arms as I grind my teeth together. I wanted to go and help Rodney but I had a feeling these guys wouldn't hesitate to shoot me if I tried to help.

"No, no, no, no!" Rodney called out as he was dragged away from us.

"This wasn't part of the plan!" John cried out.

"Neither was you heading back to Atlantis," Ford commented as he stepped down from the dart. "You didn't really buy the whole 'I want to go home' speech, did you huh?" Ford mocked as John's face morphed into a angry frown. John had told me about the talk they had, and I did have a hard time believe that he had been sincere; this just proved it. "Always underestimated me, Sheppard. You need to stop doing that. Complete the mission and McKay lives." Ford compromised.

"We can't complete the mission, Ford. It's a bad plan!"

"You said it was a great plan," Ford argued.

"You didn't buy the whole, 'it's a great plan' speech, did you?" John said sarcastically.

"Get this dart in the air and come scoop us up." Ford ordered as John narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh, and the dart DHD only dials to the planet we're going to and back here—just in case McKay's life isn't enough to get you to do the right thing." Ford smirked at him as he turned away and walked near the three of us. Teyla reached out to him.

"Aiden, what are you doing?" She asked him in an angry tone. Ford stopped and turned to her.

"Just making sure you guys held up you end of the bargain," he said. He looked at his men again. "It's ok, give them their weapons back."

"Are you sure?" Kanayo asked, eyeing Ronon's sword that he had taken from the Hulk. I was a bit surprised myself, I swear if there were people holding guns to my head I'd take aim at Ford right now and just end all of this here.

"If we're going to do this, we've got to work together. Good luck to us all." Ford said. the weapons drop around us as I snatch back my p-90 and clip it onto my vest. I move to stand next to Teyla as Ford comes and stands on the other side of me. I didn't even look at him as I focused my gaze on John. He sent me a quick glance with a nod as he pressed some buttons on his dash and the canopy turned black, creepy. The dart rose up into the sky as it flew behind us and looped around. As I heard it drawing closer I shut my eyes, waiting for the impact of the beaming device. I heard the familiar sound and waited all but a second before everything around me dissolved…

* * *

I felt like I had just been on a loop-de-loop. My head was spinning as I was rematerialized with the others. I heard a bloodcurdling scream as I looked to my left and passed Teyla and Ronon to see Ford and the others leaning over the edge of the platform.

"Jace!" Ford screamed as I covered my mouth. I could only imagine that some of them had gone off the edge. "We have to go after them!" Ford continued. Teyla grabbed the front of Ford's shirt.

"No one would've survived that fall." She said to him.

"We have to get out of the open," Ronon said from beside me, he glanced down at me quickly and I felt a sharp nudge at my back from Ronon as I walked. I had a sneaky feeling that John might have spoken to him again about watching out for me.

Our party moved through the hive ship quietly, I held my p-90 out in front of me as I walked side by side with Ronon. I heard talking behind me. "No, we are not ok. You beamed half of us off the edge of the platform." Ford hissed angrily into his radio. He and John were the only ones to have one. There was a pause as Ronon and I looked up and down a corridor and saw that it was clear before moving on. "Is that all you care about? You murdered my men." Ford continued. There was another pause. "Maintain radio silence until we've laid the charge."

"You should leave that radio on, Aiden." Teyla reasoned with Ford but I could hear the venom in his voice when he spoke.

"Don't tell me what to do." He said, he appeared from around me as he took the lead, Ronon and I following behind him. I rolled my eyes.

"Someone needs a time out," I muttered to myself quietly.

We walked for a few minutes, getting closer to where we were supposed to lay the charge when suddenly a loud, blaring alarm rung out through the ship. I felt my body freeze as the last time I had heard this had been when I had been on the hive ship when I had lost dad. I had memories coming to the surface as I tried to push them back.

"What is that?" I heard Ford ask. Hearing his voice brought me back to when he and I had located John on the first hive ship and saved his ass, and then I had found my father's deceased body.

"It's an alarm." Ronon stated.

"That shouldn't happen." Ford said.

"No, it shouldn't," Ronon agreed as I sucked in a deep breath. We were in trouble now; I couldn't dwell in the past. Ford was trying to speak with John in the radio as I braced myself against the wall for a second.

"Are you alright?" Teyla placed her hand on my shoulder as she asked me.

"Yeah," I gasped out. I looked up when I heard Wraith footsteps drawing near, as did the others.

"Too late," Ronon said as he drew his sword. "If you want to live, stay behind me." he ordered as I smirked.

"Whatever, Conan." I remarked as I pushed off the wall and fought back the memories. I followed them closely as we walked only a few meters before the Wraith guards emerged.

"Fire!" Ford ordered as he and his men let loose.

"Behind us!" Teyla yelled as the both of us spun around and fired onto the Wraith. There were three that we were taking down. I could hear the others firing and Ronon slashing his way through the guards with his sword.

It was no use though, every time Teyla and I took one down another would take its place, I took down another Wraith as I switched to another one and dodged a stunner barely. Kanayo joined the two of us as the Wraith was still closing in on us. Kanayo and Teyla were firing back to back as I heard the stunner go off. For some reason I knew it was going to hit me so it didn't surprise me when a second later I felt it hit my back as my body went limp as I fell to the floor.

* * *

I woke up groaning, and wishing I wasn't waking up on the cold, hard floor. I opened my eyes slowly, adjusting to the new light as a face came into view.

"John?" I muttered weakly. It was hard for me to focus seeing as his face was blurry but I could make out his messy hair.

"Yeah, it's me." He whispered back. I rubbed my eyes as everything slowly slid back into focus. I rubbed my forehead, hoping to alleviate the headache I was having.

"I can't believe you screwed up!" I heard Ford yell. I wanted to roll my eyes but I knew that would do me more harm then good. I tried to sit up, and thanked John when he took my hand in his and helped pull me up. I met Teyla's gaze in the corner of the room as she gave me a knowing smile, looking between John and I as I felt my cheeks flush and turn my attention back to John and Ford.

"I did what?" John exclaimed, dropping my hand to face Ford.

"You set off the alarm. You ruined the mission." Ford snapped, as he stood almost chest-to-chest with John.

"The dart went on autopilot the second I got close to the hive. You're lucky I was able to get you out." John argued.

"Well, why would it do that? Why would it go on autopilot?" Ford demanded an answer.

"That's what jumpers do when they gate to Atlantis!"

"Well, why didn't you say something?" Ford hissed at him. I wanted to tell him that that was stupid seeing as we were all locked away in the dematerialization device at the time it happened, John seemed to realize this as well.

"Why didn't I say something?" John echoed. Ford shook his head as he paced a few feet then looked back angrily at John.

"You want me to fail. You want me to look bad!"

"Yeah," John snapped. "That's right, you snot-nosed brat. I put my teams life on the line just to prove you wrong!"

There was a pause between the two, neither had anything to say to each other yet.

"We've got company," Ronon said. I hadn't even noticed him. He had been standing at the entrance of the cell, leaning on the webbed door and staring out of it. I peer around John's shoulder as Teyla goes and stands behind Ronon. Three Wraith approach the door, they pause at the entrance as the unmasked one stares at Ronon.

"Move away," he orders.

"What do you want?" Ronon asks from him, baring his teeth.

"The one who flew the ship."

My hand flies to John's at his side as I grip it tightly. He squeezes my hand back reassuringly.

"Why don't you start with me?" Ronon threatened. He moved back from the door as it opened. Ronon continued to stare at them. Suddenly they hit Ronon with a stunner as he goes down, Teyla going to his side.

"No, wait! You want me." John said. I pulled on his hand. He wasn't leaving me. This wasn't going to happen to me again. I wasn't going to loose John to the Wraith, not like I lost dad. The main Wraith stalks over to John as he sniffs deeply, grossing me out but somehow gathered the information he wanted. The two guards aimed their stunners at him. I felt John run his thumb over the back of my hand as I felt his grip slacken on mine but I held on tightly to his. If he went, I was going too.

"Mia, don't." John said quietly to me.

"I'm not letting you—" I was cut off as John had turned around, his free hand cupped the back of my neck and pulled my head to him as he planted a kiss on my lips. I heard a few surprised noises in the background but I didn't pay much attention to that. I felt my heart ache at the prospect that this might be our last moment together. I felt the lump in my throat as he pulled away, the Wraith getting antsy. They nudged him harshly as he hissed at them. He looked me in the eyes.

"I love you."

"I'll see you soon," I said weakly. "I love you."

The Wraith hit him again and the main one hissed as John turned and followed him out. I watched his back as he walked away from me and out of the cell, when they had turned the corner I finally looked at the other occupants of the cell. Ford had narrowed eyes at me, I had a feeling that maybe he was jealous or maybe he just always looked pissed off now. I looked at Teyla and Ronon, neither looked too surprised…which didn't surprise me, but they both looked sympathetic.

"It's alright. There's always a way out." Ford tried to reassure us.

"If he dies," Ronon said, glaring at Ford. "You die."

If John did die, I'd be the one to kill Ford.

* * *

 **Well guys so Teyla and Ronon now know! Was anyone actually expecting this to happen? At least they don't have to hide as much as they did before. Anyway so I love the interactions between John, Mia and Ford in this chapter, and the bonding that happens with Mia and Ronon in this also. How cute and slightly paranoid was it of John to ask Ronon to watch her? Aw my poor heart can't take it!**

 **Thanks guy, hope you enjoyed and I can't wait for next week as shit hits the fan in the next one!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Crystal Reynolds** \- I'm excited for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed!

 **Adela** \- Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the reunion, i wrote it differently like 3 times xD

 **Teekee Hut** \- Yay i'm so happy i was able to make your friday morning great! I loved the interactions she had with Ronon in this chapter, I know when he first arrived everyone was all like 'I hope they become really good friends' and i totally messed that up xD but now we are seeing the kind of relationship the two will have with each other!

 **Julka212** \- Yeah she was! I stated it in not last chapter the chapter before that the teams had been searching for 5 weeks and had no leads, and by the team actually found her it has been close to 6 weeks since she has been missing, sorry if i didn't make it clear enough! Yeah Ford's a little bonkers and creepy, watching them have a touching reunion ruined by pop-eye xD She didn't refuse, in this chapter it mentions that Jace, the one that *sadly* died on the hive ship brought her food every day. But being stuck in a cell with no stimulation and meager food will cause anyone to loose weight...poor Mia, she is also naturally thin thanks so her metabolism but thanks to Ford she's pretty underweight now. Aw thank you so much! It's only as the season is pre-written ahead of time, right now I'm working on season 3! So this is why and it also makes it easier for me and lets the story flow more smoothly this way!

 **Lucy** \- Everyone is so happy to see them back together! Even me ahaha. Yep they aren't out of the woods yet, they've still got a bit more to go before they can all *hopefully* go home. lol Nathan xD that's all im going to say

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you! I know i'm so happy that they're finally back together! Omg this reunion was probably the hardest thing for me to write! I wrote it about three different times, each one completely different trying to get the perfect one! I'm still not 100% happy with it but I hoped to get pretty close and I'm glad someone picked up on her vulnerability :)

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Thank you! And yes finally back together at last!


	49. Emergence - Chapter 49

**Woohoo! Hi everyone, I'm so excited for this chapter! We're finally wrapping up this little arc should I say? As much as I love all the scenes that have come out of this, it is time to move on and get going with the rest of the season! I have heaps more planned for the final half so don't go thinking that this is the only curveball I'm throwing you! We've still got Michael to deal with and the Wraith allies and some other shit that I can't think of right now xD It's been a long day for me looking after 15, 2 year olds for 8 hours straight. ANYWAY enjoy everyone and I'll be explaining some things about the chapter at the very end!**

 **As always thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing and alerting this story!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence  
**

* * *

John stood facing the Wraith Queen, her stark white hair in contrast against the background and her attire as she sniffed the air. Her hand shot out to the right side of his face as her voice echoed in his mind.

" _Kneel."_ It echoed. The command was impossible for John to resist, one of the more annoying traits of the female Wraith as John fell to his knees, glaring up at her. The Queen circled him like the predator she was.

"The ship, where did you get it?" She hissed at him, coming to stop in front of him. John tried to hold his tongue but he physically couldn't stop himself from speaking.

"You mean the dart? We call them darts because they're so pointy." He told her.

"Tell me. Where?" She demanded, using more of her telepathic influence.

"I really don't want to say," John gasped out. He felt the tickle in his mind that he had felt before; he knew that she was picking though his memories.

"Not even for your mate?" The Queen threatened with a sick smile as John narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hurt her and you'll never find out." John replied. The Queen smiled and then struck out, backhanding John as he head snaps back from the blow, his lip and cheek aching. The Queen leans down to him and draws her finger down his cheek. "I don't even know your name."

"In time, you will tell me every…" The Queen trails off as her head twitches to the side. Her gaze focuses on nothing as she suddenly snarls at John, spins on her heel and storms off. John's worried look turns to confusion as he watched her go, not knowing if he should be thankful that he wasn't fed upon or worried that the Queen deemed him unimportant anymore, so something else was.

The two Wraiths who brought him in grasped his arms and yanked him up. "Tell me what?" He called out as they removed him from the room.

* * *

I was sitting on the bench in the cell; my leg was tapping nervously as I bit at my nails and stared ahead into the corridor. Ford was muttering with Kanayo behind me, Teyla was standing by the door and Ronon was pacing back and forwards in the room.

"Teyla?" I called her name. She turned to me and weakly smiled.

"I sense that she hasn't fed on him." She said as I sighed in relief. My eyes slid shut as I slumped down and held my head in my hands. Ever since John had been taken with them my mind had been running mad with possibilities. Teyla had been keeping tabs for me; she had been sensing the Queens mood, but not using her spidey senses enough that the Queen would realize that she was doing it.

I heard someone come and sit next to me as I turned my head, seeing Ronon leaning on his knees. He met my gaze for a second and smirked.

"So, how long have you and Sheppard been like that?" He asked as I laughed at him.

"You're asking me that at a time like this?" I was on borderline hysteria. Ronon stayed serious and I realized that he was actually asking because he was curious and not trying to make small talk. I could feel Teyla watching me also as I looked up at her. She was indeed looking, obviously curious about John and I. "Around ten months, if you don't count our break up." I muttered sarcastically as I waited to see Teyla's reaction. She looked stunned that John and I had been together for that long and then she realized something.

"You leaving the team…"

"Yeah," I said looking away from her, "It wasn't just about Ronon. I broke up with him and decided it was best for us to be away from each other. But if we get out of this—"

"Your secret is safe with me," Teyla reassured me as I thought about Lorne. He had said the same thing to me when he had figured it out.

"Thank you." I told her. I looked over at Ronon as he simply nodded at me.

"They're coming." Teyla announced suddenly as I shot up from the bench. Ronon continued to sit as I watched the contingent come around the corner, John indeed walking in front and very much alive. Ford and Kanayo had stopped talking behind me and were watching also. The Wraith shoved John with their stunner as he met my gaze, I could see some nervousness in his gaze as the Wraith opened up the door. The Wraith holding his shoulder shoved him into the room as John stumbled and fell to the floor. I ran to his side, kneeling down as he groaned and pushed himself onto his hands. Ronon ran to the closed door and bared his teeth at the Wraith.

"Are you ok?" I asked John, checking him over as I offered him my hand as I helped pull him up.

"Yeah." He said to me as he brushed himself down and shook his arm out.

"Where'd they take you?" Ronon asked as he came walking over. I felt John's arm snake around my waist as I leaned into him.

"A little Q and A with the Queen of the hive," John said.

"What'd you tell her?" Ford asked as he and Kanayo came walking to us.

"It was a short conversation. She walked out."

"Why?" Ford barked. John shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe she was late for a meeting," John said sarcastically.

"No. There's something else. I sense she was agitated, even angry," Teyla cut in as I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"Why?" John asked. Teyla froze for a second before she looked up at the ceiling, her eyes widening.

"Another hive ship has arrived."

"What?" I exclaimed at her.

"Are you sure there's another ship?" John asked her as Teyla nodded.

"I sense it close by." Said Teyla.

"Well, maybe they're planning on culling the planet together?" John offered; even though that didn't make me feel any better.

"Or they're going to fight for it," Ford added as an afterthought.

"Either way," Kanayo said, "the planet's only a few days away, so we don't have much time if we still intend to stop them." I wanted to speak out, and say that even in a situation like this, they still wanted to try and blow up the ship? There was a very good chance that none of us were going to get out of this.

"Alright, first things first. How to get out? Any luck?" John asked as he moved away from me and to the door. Ronon and Ford followed him.

"Not yet." Ronon grunted.

"Don't worry, I'll figure a way out." Ford said determinedly.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," John muttered. Teyla, Kanayo and I stood together as we watched the three of them at the door. "Last time we were on one of these ships, McKay was able to open the door by cutting right into the wall." John said as he pointed at the door panel.

"You mean with a knife?" Ford asked as he pulled one out of his jacket.

"You have a knife?" John asked in shock.

"One for them to find, one to keep. Everybody knows that." Ford said with a shrug.

"Right, for got about that rule." John muttered under his breath.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here." Ford said with a smirk as I rolled my eyes.

"You're the reason we're stuck here in the first place, idiot." I snapped at him as Ford looked over his shoulder at me. His gaze was emotionless as he turned back to face John as he aimed at the panel on the wall.

"Now, just take your time…" John instructed. Ford threw the knife as it hit the panel but nothing happened. "I said take your time!"

"I hit the exact spot you were pointing at!" Ford argued as John sighed in aspiration.

"Alright, alright. Anybody else got a knife?" John asked as Ronon shoved Ford out of the way and then pulled a knife out of his gloves. Ronon aimed for a second before he threw the knife. The room suddenly went dark.

"Getting warmer." John said in relief as Ronon pulled out another knife from his clothes, much to all of our surprise. "How many of those things you got?"

"How many do you need?" Ronon replied simply as he threw the knife. Nothing happened this time as Ronon bends down to his boot and picks out another knife. He aims it up and throws it. It hit the panel as we all heard a noise that sounded like the doors trying to open but they failed. Ronon reached into his hair and pulled out another knife, I was pretty impressed at how well he was able to hide them.

"You must have a hell of a time going through airports," John muttered as Ronon threw his third knife. With a lurch the doors opened as I grinned in delight, relieved at the fact that we would finally be getting out of here. "Ford, what the hell are you doing?" John suddenly cried out as I turned around. Ford was sitting on the bench and injecting himself with the enzyme, I grimaced as he finished and let the syringe drop.

"That's the last of it," he said.

"What about the rest of us?" Ronon asked with a glare.

"You don't need it." Kanayo barked.

"You don't know that." Ronon threatened. Ford headed for the door as John blocked his way.

"We're heading to the dart bay. Stay together and stay quiet." John warned him. Ford and John stared at each other for a second before Ford nodded, he gestured for John to lead. John looked back at me as he reached for my hand. I felt weird to take it in front of everyone but the look on his face told me that I wasn't allowed to refuse it. I grasped his hand as he pulled me to him and out of the room as I heard the rest following behind.

* * *

We ran through the ship quietly but as fast as we could. I had a feeling John was just running around and hoping that we would come across the dart bay by chance. I was worried that the longer we were out here the quicker we were going to be found by the Wraith.

"Wait!" Teyla called out to John and I as we stopped, I looked over my shoulder at Teyla, she is pointing to the corridor that we were just about to run down. "They are coming."

A Wraith walks around the corner, stunning me as Ford suddenly barges through. "I got it." He said as he stormed towards the Wraith. He gets stunned in the chest but it doesn't even faze him as he continues on and engages the Wraith in hand-to-hand as he manages to toss the stunner to Ronon. He then uses a move to get the Wraith on the ground as Ronon approaches him.

"Move!" He orders as Ford rolls away as Ronon stuns the guard.

"More coming!" Kanayo calls out.

"This way!" John hollers, he tugs on my hand as he pulls me along with him as we run down a different corridor.

We all ran, weaving down different corridors hoping to throw off the Wraith's trail, we turned down another one as we entered their storage area. The walls were lined with cocoons and I could see human's unconscious in them. We slowly walked passed them as I peered into a cocoon.

"Help us. Please, help us." The girl said. I jumped back in fright.

"She's alive," I gasped as John moved next to me.

"So is this one," I heard Teyla call from behind me. I looked over my shoulder around me and saw that there were a few more moving around in their cocoons, waiting to be rescued.

"Lets get them out of there." John said as we both started to rip away the webbing.

"We don't have time to stop. This isn't the mission!" Ford snapped as he pulled on John's arm.

"There is no mission!" John hissed. "There's just your stupid plan."

"If you hadn't screwed up—"

"Look, the sooner you stop arguing with me and help me save these people, the quicker we get out of here." John said to him, as Ford turned away and stood back, it seemed he wasn't going to help. John and I resumed on getting the woman out as he started untying the ropes around her wrists. When all the webbing was away and her hands untied John and I lifted her out of the cocoon as we both supported her weight on us.

I felt my blood run cold when Ronon started firing off his stunner, I looked over my shoulder and saw the Wraith firing at Ronon and aiming at us. John saw the same thing as he searched for Ford and saw him helping out a woman of his own. Ronon was keeping them at bay as John looked around us.

"Let's get out of here!" He called as we began to hurry out. John only got a few steps before he collapsed to the floor.

"John!" I yelled as I took the woman's weight as I watched Teyla go down also. I spun around, facing the Wraith just as I saw a flash of blue and then my body was engulfed with painful pins and needles as I went numb and dropped to the ground.

* * *

When I awoke this time John's face didn't greet me. I was lying on my side with my whole body hurting. I groaned and rolled over onto my back.

"Ouch," I groaned as I glanced around the cell. Teyla and Ronon came over to me as I looked over my shoulder and saw Kanayo. The room was vacant of John and Ford. I looked back to Teyla and she saw my expression.

"They must have been taken to another cell, to separate us." Teyla said as I nodded in agreement. Ronon held out his hand for me to take as I thanked him as he pulled me up.

"How long was I out for?" I asked them.

"A while." Teyla said as I nodded and rubbed my head. I finally got a good look at Teyla and Ronon, and they didn't look well. I could see the sweat building up on their foreheads and their bodies had begun to shake.

"Are you guys ok?" I asked them. I glancced behind to see Kanayo kneeling on the ground, he was holding his stomach to stop himself from shaking, his eyes were bloodshot and his face was dripping in sweat.

"The Enzyme is leaving our bodies." Teyla said as I bit my lip nervously. I knew this wasn't going to be good. Teyla and Ronon had only been on the enzyme for a couple of days, Kanayo on the other hand had been dependent for a while. Kanayo cried out in pain as he slumped to the ground.

"Kanayo!" I cried, running over to him. His eyes were shut in pain as he convulsed on the ground. I stared up at Teyla and Ronon as I saw them both hunched over and grimacing against their own pain. "Kanayo you have to fight it, you can do this." I told him as I reached for his hand. He grasped onto it painfully as he cried out and squirmed on the floor. I felt horrible; I wished I could take his pain away. Ronon and Teyla watched on, I could see the horror in their eyes; they were worried that this was going to happen to them also. I gazed down at Kanayo once more, he arched his back off the floor, his teeth ground together as he released a gasp of pain and then went limp on the floor. My eyes widened as I couldn't hear his breathing or his chest rising.

"Kanayo!" I exclaimed, my fingers went to his neck. I wished desperately to find a pulse and cursed when I didn't. "He's dead," I told the others as Teyla and Ronon shared a worried look.

"Is that's what going to happen to us?" Ronon asked as I stood and moved away from Kanayo's body.

The Wraith suddenly appeared at the door as the three of us stared them down. Ronon stumbled to the door as he stared down the Wraith. "One less for you to feed on?" Ronon hissed at him. I heard the stunner as Ronon groaned and went down. The door opened as the Wraith comes in, the unmasked one went to Teyla and stared into her face. I held my breath as the Wraith looked at me for a split second before he spoke.

"Take him." He ordered. One guard walks to Kanayo's body as he drags him by the arm out of the room. I wanted to yell at them to show Kanayo some respect but I knew it wouldn't get me anywhere and I certainly did not want to piss off this Wraith.

The Wraith turned and left the room, causing me to let out the breath I had been holding. I looked over at Teyla, she was shaking more and I saw the signs of her about to pass out just as her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

"Teyla!" I cried, catching her as she fell back. I groaned under her weight as I gently set her down on the bench and picked her feet up and placed them down. I checked for her pulse and sighed in relief when I found it. I looked over at Ronon and saw that he was spread eagle out on the floor. I had a feeling that the two just needed to sleep off the enzyme. Their addiction wasn't as bad as Kanayo's so hopefully once the enzyme has completely broken down they'd be ok. My thoughts went to Ford, he had been on the enzyme for a long time now, if his withdrawal was just as bad as Kanayo's…I shut my eyes, I didn't even want to think about it.

As I sat on the bench, all I could think about was if John was alive, we had been separated for a reason and I couldn't help but wonder if the Wraith Queen had taken him back to finish what she had started. I had to hope that she hadn't for the sake of my sanity.

* * *

I was dozing off in my sitting spot when I heard the cell door open. My eyes shot open as I jumped up off the floor; I had my guard up as I stared at the same Wraith.

"The Queen wants to see you." He hissed at me. I looked from him to the others, and then to Teyla and Ronon who were still passed out on the floor. With a reluctant sigh I lowered my guard and walked out, following the Wraith as the two others brought up the rear. We walked through the hive ship, I kept looking down the corridors and into the shadows, trying to see if I could see John or Ford in a cell or lurking around the ship. We came to a large open door as the guards stopped outside as I followed the Wraith into the room. It was large and dark; a dais was in the center of the room with green lights around the outside. I spotted the Queen lurking at the back of the room. I had only ever seen one Wraith Queen in my life, and she had been the red headed one who had killed my father. This one looked the same facially but had long white hair and a black corset dress, she reminded me of Dracula. She grinned evilly when I walked onto the dais and slowly walked forwards.

"Why are your people getting sick?" She hissed at me as she circled me. I didn't answer her as she moved slowly until she faced me. "Answer me!" I felt a sharp pain in my head as I winced and pressed my hands against my temple.

"They're just sick." I muttered. I found it strange, I knew that the female Wraith's could force someone to tell the truth; I could only feel pain but no desire to tell her the real reason. Maybe it was because I was a woman? I finally realized that maybe this was why the Queen hadn't fed on any of us, they were afraid that we would get them sick.

"Why did you come here?" She asked. The pain had somewhat faded away so I was able to remove my hands and stare at her catlike glare.

"I'm not telling you anything, torture me all you want." I threatened as the Queen leaned into my face, she sneered in rage as she nodded to her cronies and I was yanked back harshly.

"Get the other one!" She commanded as I was forced to walk by the guards. I left the room as I realized that I only had the two guards on me. If I planned this quickly, I could take them out and get away, get our weapons and break us all out of here.

I carefully planned it, and just as I was about to execute my plan I heard a stunner go off twice as the two Wraith guards went down. I spun around, facing my savior.

"Ford?" I asked in disbelief. He didn't look good, but he wasn't dead either like I thought he was. He came up to me as I met his gaze. I frowned, something was different, his look was different.

"Remind you of old times, huh?" He said with a smirk as he shoved a stunner into my hand. I was frozen, his voice had changed, he sounded like the old Ford. My Ford.

"Thanks," I said to him, still in a daze. I was confused. "How are you alive? Kanayo…oh God, Ford, Kanayo's—"

"I know," he said somberly, his gaze cast downwards. "They were taking me to a cocoon when I managed to take them out and get my hands on some more enzyme. I found our weapons but I'm pretty sure they're taking Sheppard to the Queen."

"We have to save him." I said determinedly. Ford nodded.

"Then we'll get out of here, all of us." He said as he turned and I followed him. Just as he had said, this reminded me of when I had been captured on a hive ship and Ford had rescued me from the Wraith and then we had gone on to save John. But that wasn't all; something had changed within Ford. He wasn't like the angry and vengeful one from before, he seemed like his normal self. It brought a smile to my face, I think he's back.

Ford and I peeked into the room where I had previously been, I saw John on the dais as the Queen spoke to him. I saw a few human women in the room, one of them I recognized as the girl I had taken out of the cocoon.

"Wraith worshipper." Ford muttered under his breath to me as I glared at her. The Queen yelling at John caught my attention as John was brought to his knees.

"I shall savor your defiance!" She bellowed as her hand reached back as if to feed on him. Ford and I jump into the room as he stunned the Queen and I stunned the Wraith guards standing around as Ford passed John a stunner. John took a quick double take at me as I saw the relief on his face at seeing me and then went back to shooting the Wraith. I see the women running out of the room as John runs to Ford and I.

"How'd you get our weapons back?" He asked us as I motioned to Ford.

"That was the easy part. Getting some more enzyme, that was harder." Ford explained as the three of us ran out of the room.

"You are one tough some of a bitch!" John commented. He and I ran for a second before I noticed that Ford wasn't following us. We stopped as I looked back at Ford. "What are you doing?" John asked him. Ford pointed down the corridor.

"Down that hall, fifty meters, turn left. It'll take you to Teyla and Ronon's cell. I'll hold the Wraith back for you." I felt my heart lurch.

"No." I said to him as John walked to him.

"You're coming with us."

"I'll hold the Wraith back, boss. Now go, I'll be ok." He said, Ford glanced at me for a second as I shook my head at him.

"I'm not going without you, Lieutenant." John said firmly.

"John," Ford said, "I'll catch up. Now go!" The alarm suddenly starts blaring as Ford turns on his heel.

"Aiden!" I cry out, Ford stops and gives me a final smile before running off. I felt like I had lost Ford all over again. He had come back to me, finally, and now he was gone again.

"Mia, we have to go." John said as I felt him take my hand. His touch jolted me from my thoughts as I turned and nodded, we had to rescue Teyla and Ronon and get the hell out of here. John began to pull me along, with a final long look at the spot where Ford had disappeared I turned and ran with John.

* * *

We followed Ford's directions; we came skidding around the corner and found Teyla and Ronon standing at the cell door.

"How about I bust you out of here?" John said with a smirk.

"If you don't mind," Ronon said smugly. I took a look at both of them; they seemed to look a lot better then before. John used Ronon's gun as he blasted the panel as the door opened up and the two came out. Teyla placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled, I guess she might have thought I was dead when she had awoken and found me gone from the room.

"I've got to get myself one of these," John said as he handed the Satedan his weapon back. "Where's Kanayo?"

"He is dead. Ford?" Teyla replied.

"Well, last I saw he was alive and I'm sticking with that." John said, looking at me. I nodded as the four of us ran off.

We came to the dart bay entrance as we stopped and looked in, the darts were taking off, as John looked concerned.

"The culling is beginning," Teyla stated.

"We need to stop them." John said to us.

"How?" Ronon asked.

"Stay here," John ordered, looking back at us. "When I give you my signal, get out in the open." He raced off into the dart bay as the three of us looked on in fear.

Suddenly the ship rocked as I fell into the side of the wall painfully. I could hear explosions in the distance as the ship continued to shake.

"What the hell is that?" I cried out, holding my shoulder.

"It seems the ship is under fire," Teyla assumed as the ship shook violently once more.

"By who?" I cried out as I braced myself on the wall.

"The other hive ship?" Ronon guessed. The three of us moved to the entrance of the ship as we looked around for John's signal.

"Look!" I said, pointing into the dart bay as we watched a ship fly around in a loop and make it's way to us.

"Is that his signal?" Teyla asked.

"It better be," Ronon grunted as the three of us moved out into the open.

I was standing near the ledge, and when I had stopped walking and waiting for John to scoop us up, the ship was once again rocked, this time I had nothing to catch myself on.

"Teyla!" I screeched as I went falling backwards and off the ledge, just as John's dart came flying passed and scooped Teyla and Ronon up. The last thing I had seen of the two had been their fearful faces as they watched me fall back. I screamed as the ledge went flying passed my head, I flung my hands out, catching the ledge as I dangled precariously.

"Oh shit! Oh shit!" I screamed as I held on for dear life. All around me I could hear darts leaving and the ships being blown apart by whoever was firing at them. My hand slipped a little as I screamed once more. I was going to die; this was it. I was going to die on a fucking hive ship. I tried to swing myself up onto the ledge but I couldn't reach, I didn't have the strength and I made my hand slip more. My left hand slipped off as I screamed, preparing to drop off and die when I felt something warm clamp on my hand.

"Mia!"

I looked up, smiling. "Aiden!" I said in relief as Ford came into my vision. It had become blurry with tears as he pulled me up easily. When I was over the edge I flung my arms around him and held his body to me. "Oh my God, thank you."

"Are you ok?" Aiden asked me as I nodded.

"Any second later and I'd be plunging to my death," I said to him. Aiden looked around.

"We need to get out of here," he said as I nodded.

"Yeah, let's." I agreed as Aiden and I ran over to the nearest dart that we spotted.

"Can you fly it?" Aiden asked me as I gawked at the thing.

"Fly it? Are you insane?" I asked him as Aiden jumped into the seat.

"Just a little, but if you want to get out of here you better hope you can."

There was a pause.

"Move over." I said as I ran up the stairs and jumped into the seat in front of him. I looked around at the controls and I grimaced. I had no clue what I was doing. "Ok, this can't be that hard. I mean, if the Wraith can do it, I can, right?" I asked rhetorically.

"Yeah," Aiden replied. I hit a button that looked like it would do something as suddenly the canopy closed.

"Ok," I said with a grin. "I can do this."

I hit another button and took the controls into my hands as I felt the dart come to life. The overhead screen lit up in a yellow colour as pictures went flying past that I tried to decipher.

"Can you read that?" Aiden asked. I shook my head.

"No, but I'm pretending that I can." I felt the dart suddenly start flying as I took my hands off the controls. It seemed that it was flying on autopilot. I deduced that the screen was showing me the other darts around me as I put my hands back onto the controls. When I felt them suddenly loosen up I realized that it was now my turn to fly. The dart was easy to maneuver, easier then the jumpers as I read off the screen.

"There's a ship firing on the hives," I stated, looking at the screen.

"Does it tell you who it is?" Aiden asked from behind me, I shook my head.

"No, but I'm seeing something really strange."

"What?"

"The darts and hive ship are firing on each other." I told him, pointing at the screen.

"We need to get out of here, find the Stargate." He said. I flew the ship until I found the Stargate.

"Dial an address." I told him as Ford leaned round me and dialed the gate. On the screen it showed me that it had connected.

"Let's hope I don't hit the side, huh?" I muttered.

* * *

"Let's never let me fly a dart again," I groaned, holding my head as I recovered from our crash landing.

"Duly noted." Aiden agreed. I hit the button for the canopy to release as I climbed out of the dart. I stretched out my back and surveyed the damage. The nose end was completely in the dirt and I had taken a few trees down with my landing. I slid off the dart as I heard Aiden do the same. I looked back at him with a grin as he mirrored my expression. "Let's find the gate." He told me as I followed behind.

We walked only for a few short minutes before the gate came into view. I grinned as I hurried up to it, staring at the large piece of metal material that would take me home. I smiled softly.

"Home," I hummed, closing my eyes. I could picture it now, the tall spires, the ancient interior, my small bed and messy bedroom. The smiling faces of all my friends and John's face greeting me when he saw me. They all probably thought I was dead right now; I couldn't wait to see their faces when they saw me, and Aiden. Thinking about Aiden I turned around, hoping to see him smiling but all I saw was a pensive look. "You're coming with me, right?" I asked him desperately. Aiden hesitated before speaking. A sad look came over his face as I felt my heart break.

"Mia, I can't go back." He said. I felt the large lump in my throat and the sting of tears.

"Yes you can, all you have to do I come with me." I said to him. Aiden shook his head.

"There's nothing for me there anymore." He said.

"I'm there!" I cried out, pointing to myself as Aiden smiled and walked to me. "Your family is there, they need you. I need you." I sobbed as his hands came to rest on my arms.

"I know, but what do you think will happen when I go back?" Aiden asked me. I wanted to answer that I wouldn't let anything happen to him but I stopped. I couldn't promise that.

"You can't leave me again, not after I just got you back." I cried. Aiden pulled me to him and hugged me tightly, crushing my body.

"Mia, I am so sorry for everything I did to you. I don't deserve the kindness you're showing me now." I could hear the quiver in his voice as I turned my face and pressed it into his chest. "It was the enzyme, I see it now. Even though it's still in my system, it's...less and I can think clearly again. I'm remembering everything I did to you, and I'm sorry. I can never repay you."

I cried into his shirt as I pushed myself away and looked up to his face.

"You are the one person I can't live without, Aiden. How can you expect me to just let you go?" I pleaded with him as he brushed a strand of hair out of my face. I could see the unshed tears in his eyes.

"Because you need to go and live your life, Mia. I've taken too much of it already. You have friends that care about you and…and man who loves you, who are probably desperately waiting for you. If you love me, not in a romantic way, but if you love me like you always have, you'll see that it's better this way for me. I can build a new life here, if I go back, they'll lock me up and experiment on me, and I'll never get to live. This way, we can both lead happy lives."

"How can I be happy, knowing that you're all alone?" I sobbed. Aiden hugged me again, and this one felt different, it felt final.

"Know that wherever I am, I am free. Here," Aiden said as I pulled away and watched him take something out of his pocket. I gasped when I recognized it.

"Is that?"

"My IDC remote. I kept it with me on this mission. You need it to get home." He handed it to me as I took it and held it to my chest. "Do me a favor, Mia?"

"Anything," I said quickly. Aiden brushed his fingers down the side of my face.

"Don't come looking for me, move on with your life. Pretend that I died. Don't waste anymore of your life on me, please. One day, we'll meet again." He said as I had to force myself to nod. The tears returned as I wiped them away.

"I love you, Aiden." I said as I threw my arms around his neck. I hugged him tightly one last time as he returned my hug.

"I love you," he replied as he pulled away, he nudged me to the Stargate. "Go on, I bet they're all waiting for you." He said with a cheeky smile that I had wished to see. It made my heart soar seeing him smile like he used to. I turned to the DHD and dialed Atlantis, my fingers were shaking with excitement as I hit the red button and watched the gate connect. I took the IDC and entered my code, when it beeped to confirm I stepped up to the wormhole. Before I stepped through I looked over my shoulder. Ford was standing ten feet away from me, smiling. He waved gently as I raised my hand and waved back.

"Bye, Aiden." I smiled at him as I faced the wormhole and stepped through.

* * *

John stood pacing at the top of the stairs. Teyla, Ronon, Rodney, Elizabeth, Lorne and Carson all waited anxiously in the control room. They were waiting for the gate to dial. When John had only beamed out Teyla and Ronon on the planet he had gone completely psycho, he had left Mia behind. Teyla had told him that the ship had been rocked with explosions and the last thing she had seen was Mia going over the edge, well everyone thought he was mad claiming that she could've survived that but John had to have hope. They hadn't survived the hive ship and Mia hadn't survived Ford's capture to plunge to her death.

"John it's been two hours, I think that if Major Sumner were alive she would've at least tried to make contact by now." Elizabeth said to him.

"She's alive. She wouldn't give up that easily." John said firmly. The others shared looks between them, they could all see that it was futile. Even if Mia hadn't fallen off the ledge, the chances of her making it out of the hive ship were slim to none. Teyla was the one who stood up.

"I will speak with him." She said, taking it upon herself to try and talk some sense into the frantic Colonel. Elizabeth nodded to her as Teyla slowly walked to him.

"Colonel?" She called gently. John turned to face her.

"I know what you're going to say." He interrupted her as Teyla looked at him with pity in her eyes. There was a silence between them; it lasted a few seconds before the room erupted into alarm.

The Stargate was activating.

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" The technician called from the control room. John and Teyla shared a hopeful look as they sprinted to the laptop that Rodney was on, everyone crowded around it.

"Do we have an IDC?" Elizabeth asked as the wormhole connected. They waited a second before something flashed on the screen and beeped.

"Yeah…it's Mia's IDC." Rodney said in awe.

"Let her in!" John exclaimed as Rodney nodded and hit the button to lower the shield. Elizabeth and Carson ran to the balcony while Lorne, John, Teyla and Rodney raced to the top of the stairs and jogged down them together. Ronon hung back and walked normally.

From the wormhole a figure stepped through with a brilliant smile on her face.

"Miss me?"

* * *

FUN FACT: So, the scene where Ford and Mia are saying goodbye has been written BEFORE I even posted the first chapter on here! That is right, that scene is the one that started this whole thing. I'm so happy to finally have this out here in the open!

 **So anyway, now down to the nitty gritty. So I can guess all of you are like ugh her falling off was so cliche but let me tell you why it happened. So in the episode, the team make it off the hive and then the Daedalus starts firing and John causes them to fire on each other. Because Mia has been inserted into the story, the scene with the Queen and her was completely new, it also messed with the timeline of events happening, causing more time to pass when the daedalus got there and them getting off the hive. Im this aspect, the daedalus had already started firing on the hive ship, causing her to fall. Yeah even with that it's still cliche but needed as we never got told how Ford got off the hive ship. I haven't actually read the novels but I know about them and in it Ford did survive the hive so this is just a little bit of closure that is needed for Mia and us as viewers of the show!**

 **Also, how cute is John when he's holding her hand!**

 **ANyway I hope you all enjoyed and next chapter we finally get some much needed sexy time from our heroes ;)**

 **REPLIES**

 **Crystal** **Reynolds** \- I know it is! But that makes it worthwhile then!

 **Adela** \- Yes those two are going to have the best relationship, i can tell ahah!

 **Julka212** \- I was going to have her stay, but then that would be totally boring and I wouldn't have been able to do all the things that I wanted to do with this chapter! But I'm happy with this, but I can imagine how Mia woould try to deal with the enzyme crazy Rodney when he takes a massive dose, that would've been hilariuos to write about! xD You're very welcome, I love answering people's questions about the story, and I love replying to all my reviewers, makes me feel a lot more connected with them! Yeah Ford's an idiot ahaha Next chapter should be very exciting for you as Mia finally returns home and gets...reacquainted with...people...ehehe

 **LoveStoryFanatic** \- Thank you! I'm so happy you think that, yeah it had been bugging me for ages how I should reveal it to Teyla and Ronon, they were always going to be one of the first to find out, I love my dramatics xD Enjoy this chapter and get ready for next weeks ;)

 **GoldenGod48** \- Maybe for season 3 I will, seeing as how long this story will be, it might be worth it to do it then ahah

 **Natsuko26** \- Ahahaha someone caught on ;) i love sneaking in things like that, don't worry, there are more where that came from. I think those two will have a little bit of both, able to be friends but not entirely sure how they are friends...

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Aw yay, I'm glad to finally have other people knowing about their relationship, it makes for some pretty awkward conversations about previous missions xD Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	50. Emergence - Chapter 50

**Hi everyone, so sorry this is a late update my power has been out for almost a whole day! Don't even get me started on how bored I have been...**

 **Anyway, so the chapter you have all be waiting for is finally here! I feel like you'll all realise that this chapter is going to be rated M for a very special reason, but enough about that, enjoy the chapter! We're also celebrating chapter 50 as well today! Holy shit that's a lot of chapters!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

Lorne was the first to get to me. I watched him sprint from the stairs over to me and hit me at full force with a hug. I laughed as I wrapped my arms around him.

"It's good to see you, Lorne." I said to him as he pulled back. He was grinning.

"Never thought I'd see you again, that is one hell of an escape you pulled." He commented as I felt my cheeks flush.

"Well you know me, subtlety isn't really my style." I stated as Teyla hugged me next. She held onto me tightly, cutting off my air supply.

"You scared us." She said.

"Sorry," I replied with a soft smile as Teyla allowed John to face me. Our gazes met as a grin came over John's face.

"It's good to see you alive, Major." He said as I laughed. It was funny how Lorne, Teyla and Ronon knew about John and I but we still had to keep up pretenses.

"Never thought I'd say this but…glad to see you're not dead." Rodney said as I smiled.

"Thanks, Rodney."

"Indeed," a voice said from behind Rodney, the group parted to let Elizabeth and Carson in. I was happy to see the both of them. "How did you escape? From what Teyla told us you were thrown from the ledge." Elizabeth asked. I sighed.

"Ford saved me." I revealed as a collection of gasps came from the group.

"What?" John asked. I looked to him and then around the group.

"He saved me. I was hanging on to the edge, thinking that I was going to die when he saved me. He came back for me."

"Where is he now?" John asked, I didn't want to lie to them, but I had to, for Ford's sake.

"He's dead." I stated. Rodney and Teyla looked away sadly as John continued to hold my gaze, he was trying to pick out if I was lying or not. Elizabeth and Carson were the most shocked of all. "We were about to fly out on the dart when we were attacked by the Wraith. Ford sacrificed his life to let me leave, I watched him get fed on, he's gone."

"He died a hero." Ronon muttered as I nodded. I turned to Elizabeth.

"If it's ok with you, I'd really like to have a shower and sleep?" I asked her as Elizabeth nodded.

"Of course, we'll debrief in the morning. I'll also schedule you a return trip to Earth if you wish."

"Yes, thank you. I have a feeling I have some frantic family members to deal with." I said with a smirk. Elizabeth smiled.

"I guess I speak for us all when I say, it's good to have you back." She said kindly as she walked off back up the stairs. I turned to all my friends.

"Well, on that note, I think I'll hit the hay. I'll see you all in the morning." I waved to them all as they said goodbye. I met John's gaze for a second, he was smirking at me and I knew for a fact that I would be seeing him later.

I detoured to the mess hall and picked up some dinner, I was starving and plus I got a kick out of seeing some of the personnel's shocked faces when they saw me. Most had probably though I had died weeks ago, others actually came up to me and welcomed me back, saying how pleased they were that I wasn't actually dead. I ate the sandwich as I walked towards my room, I had given John enough time to get there before I did, and I couldn't wait to see him.

"Mia!" I heard someone call out as I frowned, I recognized that voice, and why did it make me suddenly cringe? I turned around and saw Nathan, and my stomach dropped. Oh, whoops, I had totally forgotten about him.

"Nathan!" I exclaimed as he reached me, he gathered me up in his arms.

"You're ok! I knew you were alive, I'm so happy that you're back!" He said as he spun me around. I was trying to hold in the sandwich I had just eaten as he planted my feet back on the floor. I saw his face come closer as I moved back and held him at arms length.

"Nathan, wait," I said to him as he froze, opening his eyes, I could see the revelation in his gaze as I bit my lip. "This is probably going to be really hard for you to hear." I said to him. Last time I had spoken to Nathan he had told me that he loved me, and he had been waiting for me for six weeks, only to have me break up with him. "I've had a lot of time to think, and I'm sorry but…my feelings have changed. I'm really sorry." I apologized to him as I saw the pain and sadness come over his face. I felt like a jerk but it was the truth, Nathan would find someone who loved him one day. He was quiet.

"I kind of guessed it the day you went missing. I was just hoping…"

"I know." I agreed.

"I am glad you're ok though. I heard that Ford was the one who took you." I nodded.

"Yeah, he did." I said.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." He said sympathetically. Nathan had been one of the many people on the base who assumed that Ford and I had been in a romantic relationship when he had first gone missing, so it was lucky that I didn't have to explain to him that I was actually breaking up with him because of another man; he seemed to understand that whatever I had just gone through, I needed space; and Nathan was the sort of guy to give it to me. I felt bad for hurting him, but at the same time I felt a weight come off my chest. Nathan hugged me tightly as I hugged him back. I could hear the disappointment in his voice when he spoke. "I'll see you around, Mia." He said as he sluggishly walked off. I watched him go with a heavy heart. When he had disappeared around the corner I sighed and headed off to my own room.

* * *

As I stood outside of my room I stared at the doors, I felt like I was finally home. With a content sigh I waved my hand over the sensor and stepped into it. The lights came on dimly as I surveyed my room. The bed was unmade from the last time I had slept in it and my uniform and clothes were still strewn across the floor. I walked over to my desk and saw the photo that sat there, it was a photo of Ford and I in our childhood, we were barely teens and both wore our baseball gear. I smiled at the picture as I turned around and picked up the dirty clothes and put them in the hamper. I then took out some comfy pajamas and laid them out on my bed as I turned to my bathroom and walked in. I chuckled at the cluttered countertop as I stripped and went under the shower, savoring the steaming hot water and body wash that I had been dreaming about for weeks. It still felt surreal to me that I was back home, I had been locked up in the dingy cell for a long time, I felt like I was in a dream and I'd wake up any moment back in the cell.

I stepped out of the shower and dried myself before going back into my room, I half expected to see John waiting for me but he still hadn't come. I wasn't sure if it was because he was busy or if he was giving me some space. Thinking about him I changed into the shorts and tank top as I sat at my desk and began to brush through my damp hair.

When I heard the knock at my door I grinned and jumped up from my chair. I hurried over to the door as I waved my hand over the sensor, it slid open to reveal John as he stood there with his hands clasped behind his back and a smirk on his face.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi," I replied to him as I leaned on the doorway.

"Can I come in?" He asked me as I rolled my eyes and nodded, I fell back into the room as he followed me in. I heard the door shut as I turned around to face him. John gazed around the room for a few seconds before his eyes landed back on me.

"So I uh, saw Nathan walking around, he seemed pretty upset about something…" He poked nosily as I shrugged.

"Yeah, might've been the fact that the girl he was dating broke up with him." I said nonchalantly, waving my hand. John pursed his lips and nodded.

"Yeah well, I wonder why, just out of curiosity?" He said not so subtlety. I chuckled.

"Because she's in love with someone else."

"Oh," He exaggerated his speech as he shoved his hand into his pocket and then scratched the back of his head. "Can I ask who this person is?"

"John?" I said his name with a sigh. He paused and stared at me.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and get over here." I ordered him. His face broke out into a grin as he took two long steps and reached me. He took my face in his large hands and crashed his lips against mine. My hands fisted in his shirt as I pulled his body to mine as I wound my arms around his neck. I could feel his tongue tracing over my lips as I willingly opened my mouth to him so our tongues could dance together. I could feel the urgency in his kisses, he was hungry for more, he was passionate and I could feel the longing feeling from the way he ran his fingers through my hair and down my sides. Us right now weren't about being slow and gentle, we had missed each other, missed the touches and the feelings that erupted within our bodies. Slow and steady could be tomorrow, but for now I just wanted him once more. I trailed my hands down his clothed back, digging my nails into his skin gently when he kissed along my neck to my shoulders. I could feel all the lost emotions reignited within me again. I had thought I would never do this again with John, never feel his skin on mine, never feel him kiss my skin so I relished in the feeling. I could tell he felt the same. I gripped the base of his shirt as I quickly pulled it over his head, breaking his connection on my skin but he returned with full force as I moaned as he kissed the sweet spot just below my earlobe.

My eyes shut in pure bliss as I trailed my hands over his chest and stomach as I felt him clench his muscles. I grinned as I threw my head back, giving him more access to my neck as he peppered kisses along my jawline until he was back on my mouth, dipping his tongue in once more. His hands trailed down my sides as my skin burned from the touch through the fabric of my shirt as his hands stopped at my waist. They trailed back, going to my rear as I gasped as he applied pressure. I could feel the knot in my lower stomach building as my hands went to the front of his pants. I fumbled with the buckle, eager to get them off him as I heard him chuckle deep in his throat.

"Eager?" I heard him utter sexily with that deep voice I loved.

"You have no idea," I replied as I managed to unbutton them and push them down his legs. John laughed as suddenly I felt my legs swept out from underneath me as I yelped, my arms instinctively went around his neck as he held me against his chest. He stepped out of his pants as he planted a wet kiss on my lips as I fisted my hand at the back of his head in his hair. I felt John walk towards the bed as he placed me on it and crawled on top of me. As I met his hazel gaze I could see a question behind them.

"What is it?" I asked him, trailing my hand over his cheek. His eyes shut for a second as he relished in my touch; he opened them back up.

"I didn't want to ask but it's killing me. Did you and Fields ever…?"

"No." I said firmly, shaking my head.

"Ford never…"

I heard the question behind it; if taken out of context, my boyfriend asking me if I had slept with two other guys was a bit ridiculous and made me seem like a hussy but I knew it was because of all the crazy things that Ford had said and done.

I shook my head again, "No, never."

John grinned.

"Well, that's a load off." I laughed as I kissed him on the mouth. I pulled away and smiled at him softly.

"I really am sorry for everything, I was an idiot." I muttered.

"I'm always going to love you, Mia," John said seriously. "Even if you get sick of me. I am yours, always; remember that." I could feel the tears spring to my eyes as I wiped them away. I leaned forwards and kissed him again, letting my emotions say what I'm feeling. John caressed the side of my face with his hand as I began to trail down slowly until his hand encased my breast as he began to kneed it softly. I gasped into his mouth as his other hand bunched my shirt up in his hand as he quickly pulled it over my head. He pushed me back onto the bed as I fell back with a bounce and wrapped my arms around his neck. John began to kiss down my neck once more as he started to rock against my clothed core, I could hear my moans becoming louder as I was gasping for breath. I was gripping onto him painfully as one of his hands trailed down my naked torso and went to my nether regions as I felt a finger trace over my core. I threw my head back onto the bed, moaning loudly as John kissed the hollow of my neck. My inside's felt like exploding already as I rocked in time with his hand.

"John," I gasped out, "please. I need you." I managed to say as I felt him smirk against my skin. The weight from his body disappeared as I watched him shimmy down his boxers as I made quick work of my shorts; I tossed them to the side as I saw John's manhood ready and leaking. As John placed his naked torso on mine he braced one hand above my head and used the other to guide his cock to my entrance. I held my breath, waiting for it; I could feel the tip poking at my entrance as I writhed beneath him. I could tell he was enjoying this and with one hard thrust he sheathed himself inside me. John let out a delectable moan at the same time I moaned in pure ecstasy. I almost had an orgasm then and there but I held it together as he started to build up a rhythm. I cried out each time he thrust back into me, feeling him stretch and fill me to the point of uncomfortable but non-the less amazing. I was becoming incoherent as the only thing I could focus on was the intense wave of pleasure, it was coming in waves, building up and I knew I wasn't going to last. I finally felt at long last that I was home; I was finally safe and loved once more. I would never move from this position if I could help it, I wanted to stay here forever. I vaguely felt John pin my wrists above my head as I arched my back off the bed. I could hear John grunting in my ear, only fueling my own fire as I felt the climax finally build up and release. I cried out at the same time John did, feeling him thrust a few more times into me as I came down from my own high slowly.

* * *

John fell onto the bed next to me, completely exhausted and satisfied with a goofy grin on his face as he wrapped an arm around my stomach and pulled me against him. I faced his toned chest as I rested my head against his chest as he intertwined our fingers together. His other arm came around my shoulder as he began to trace his fingers over my skin. I shut my eyes as I listened to the gentle rhythm of John's heart; I was almost asleep when John spoke.

"Ford's not dead, is he," It wasn't a question. I opened my eyes, adjusting to the encroaching darkness. I knew that I needed to tell him, if I told John was Ford had told me, he'd leave him alone…and so would I. I would honor Ford's wishes.

"He changed." I said as I sat up. I pulled my knees to my chest as I wrapped my arms around them. John trailed his fingers down my spine. "It was because he'd almost had all of the enzyme out of his system, he was the old Aiden again. He knew that he'd never be accepted here again so he asked me to lie, to say that he died so that we'd stop looking for him, so he can go on and build his life again." I looked over my shoulder at John. The moonlight filtered in through the curtains so I could see the expression on his face. He was staring at me with a sorrowful look. "Just for a little while, I had him back," I muttered quietly. I heard John sit up as his hand brushed my hair away from my shoulder as he planted a kiss on my neck. I smiled in contempt.

"I have him to thank for bringing you back to me." He murmured against my skin.

"I'll always come back." I said to him. There was a silence between us for a few minutes, both of us lost in thought.

"You'll be going to Earth in the morning." John said, I could hear the pout in his voice as I smirked.

"Just for a week or two. I need to go and see my family, and Ford's." I turned my head to look at him as he nodded in understanding.

"Just…try not to get yourself kidnapped anytime soon," he said teasingly as I laughed.

"I'll try my hardest." I replied with a smirk. A sultry look came over John's face as he pulled me down on the bed and wrapped me up in his embrace.

"On that note, we've got a lot of catching up to do before you go." He kissed me gently on the mouth as I lost myself in his kiss. I pulled away for air as I met his gaze.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," I said with a grin as John rolled on top of me.

* * *

I woke up in the morning and smiled, I had thought everything had been a dream yesterday and I was still in the compound, but to my delight I was home and I was wrapped up in John's arms. Even though he was snoring loudly in my ear, I wouldn't have it any other way. I stretched along his body as John tightened his grip on me, I rolled over in his arms so that I faced him as I began to lightly trace over his nose, his cheeks, chin and mouth. My fingers rubbed over the stubble that he had yet to shave off as John stirred in his sleep. He sighed as his eyes slowly opened up and he focused on me, he smiled gently and then rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Good morning." He said sleepily as I sat up in the bed.

"Morning," I replied.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked me as I nodded and grinned.

"Better then I have in a long while." I said to him as he smirked.

We both heard the alarm go off on my door, alerting us to the fact that someone was outside. I threw him a look as John rolled his eyes and got out of the bed and headed into the bathroom. I quickly threw on my discarded pajamas from last night and headed to the door. I waved my hand over the sensor and smiled when Teyla greeted me.

"Good morning," she said pleasantly with a smile. "I came to see how you are this morning."

I grinned at her, "Thanks, I'm fine. I slept, really well."

"That is good news. I was wondering if you would like to have breakfast with me this morning?"

"Sure!" I said enthusiastically. "Just let me have a shower and I'll meet you in the mess hall."

"Of course," she said in understanding. Teyla half turned away but then paused and turned back to look at me. She gave me a knowing look as she leaned closer to me. "Say hello to the Colonel for me."

My jaw dropped in utter shock as Teyla laughed at my expression and headed off. I was frozen to my spot, of course I hadn't forgotten about the kiss John and I had shared on the hive ship in front of Teyla and Ronon but I never expected Teyla to be the one to tease me about it. The door shut in front of my face as I heard the bathroom door open as I turned slowly to see John emerging with a towel wrapped around his lower half. He saw my stunned expression.

"What happened?" He asked me.

"Teyla happened." I said in disbelief as John laughed and returned to the bathroom.

* * *

I walked into the mess hall and spotted Ronon, Teyla and John sitting at the usual table, I collected a tray of food and headed over to them, taking the empty spot next to Ronon, across from Teyla. John was seated next to the Athosian. Each of them were slowly picking at their food as they chatted casually until I arrived. Teyla turned her bright smile to me.

"Glad you could join us," she said as I sent her a pointed look. I started eating the eggs.

"How was your first night back in Atlantis?" Ronon asked me. I smiled at him, he seemed awfully chatty to me of late, it was nice.

"Quiet," I said, directing the answer to Teyla who smirked into her drink. "Very quiet."

"Not from what I heard," Ronon stated as I sucked in a gasp and started choking on my eggs. John, Teyla and Ronon laughed at me as I pounded my chest and glared at Ronon.

"I honestly have no idea what you mean." I stated as I looked over at John, I was trying to signal him to help get me out of this mess but he was leaning back and enjoying the show.

"Hey, Mia." A new voice joined as I turned in my seat and saw Lorne approaching, he leaned on the table with a grin on his face. "I was going to come see you this morning but I figured you might have been…you know, busy." He winked at me as Lorne smirked at John and I as I slammed my hands down on the table.

"Ok!" I was sick of people making innuendos about John and I, it was dangerous and frankly I was getting ticked off at how blatantly they were talking about it. I had gone from just John and I knowing and keeping this secret to my grave to nearly half of Atlantis knowing. "What is this, pick on Mia day?" I asked them all. The four of them chuckled.

"Come on, Mia, we've had to miss six weeks of your ever loving presence, we're all just catching up." Lorne said as I shot him a nasty glare.

"If you want to catch up then meet me in the gym." I said darkly as Lorne held his hands up in surrender.

"Even I'm not stupid enough to do that."

"I thought so." I said with a nod as I crossed my arms and glared at the other three. "And you lot! Do you want us to loose our jobs?" I hissed at them as Teyla and Ronon exchanged sly smirks.

"I think what Mia means to say is," John cut in before I could bitch anymore. "She's just worried that if word gets out, we'll both be in deep crap."

"And if I go down," I said with a pointed finger, "I'm taking you all with me." Teyla continued to smirk as Ronon quietly ate his breakfast. A second later the hulking Satedan snorted as Teyla, Lorne and Ronon burst out into laughter. I rolled my eyes at them as I met John's gaze. He was smirking at me as I sighed and continued on eating.

I was happy to be home.

* * *

The large box sat on the bare bed as I placed in the graduation photo of Ford gently into the box. I looked at all the other trinkets that were neatly stacked away as I sighed. Elizabeth had allowed me to pack away Ford's things for my return trip to Earth. I was leaving in an hour and was taking Ford's belongings back to his family and breaking the news to them that Ford was 'dead'. It was dreading it for the fact that I was basically lying to everyone around me that Ford was dead, I now had to face his entire family and tell them that he was never coming home. I walked back to his desk as I took his Marine photo into my hands. I smiled sadly at the face staring back at me as I admired how smart he looked in his formal wear. I walked to the box slowly as I lowered it into it just as the door opened to my right. I glanced over my shoulder to see John walking in as I managed a smile for him.

"How's it going?" He asked as he came to a stop next to me and peered into the box.

"I'm almost done," I said to him as I walked back to the desk and gathered the wristwatch, the picture of his family and his reading glasses. I headed back to the box as John stared into it at the belongings with a somber expression.

"Elizabeth wants to know if you want to stay any longer on Earth?"

"No, a week is fine." I said firmly as I carefully arranged the box. I heard John sigh.

"Look, Mia. I know that this is going to be hard for you but don't you think you should stay a little longer?" I frowned and shook my head.

"No—I know. I just want to get this over with and then try and return my life to normal again."

"Atlantis will still be here, you know," he said with a smirk as he crossed his arms. I rolled my eyes.

"I know. It's just…for the past six weeks I've been doing nothing but live in my own thoughts. I need to get my life back into a routine. I'm going to Earth to tell Ford's family and see my own to let them know that I'm alive and that's it. I don't want to be there any longer then I have to be."

"What about Emily?" John asked. I froze as I bit my bottom lip.

"What about her?" I asked him.

"You said you wanted to spend time with her, why not do it now? Take a few weeks off and get to know her." I turned to look at John. I doubted if he was being serious about this but I couldn't see a hint of uncertainty, he really wanted me to do this.

"You're the last person I expected to tell me to go away for a few weeks." I said with a chuckle as John shook his head.

"Trust me, I'm shocked too. But I don't want you to rush this and then regret it in the long run. You said so yourself, you have no idea when you'll be able to see her again, maybe this is the perfect time to get to know her and her to get to know you—you are sisters after all." There was a pause between us as I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"You're right," I said with a sigh. I smirked as I crossed my arms over my chest. "When did you become so level headed and reasonable?" I asked with my eyebrow quirked. John laughed as he walked over to me, he snaked his arms around my waist.

"When I had to spend nearly two months holding myself back from killing Fields every day." I grimaced as John pressed a chaste kiss to my lips quickly and then pulled away. "We should head down to the control room. You're scheduled to gate out in half an hour and we wouldn't want anyone walking in on us, now would we?" He said teasingly.

"Oh so now you're worried about people finding out? What happened to Mr. Carefree this morning?"

"He's been replaced by Mr. Responsible." He replied as I grinned. The thought suddenly crossed my mind that I wouldn't be seeing John again for another couple of weeks at most. He saw my expression change as I felt his fingers gently lift up my chin so that I was staring into his hazel eyes. "Hey, everything's going to be ok now." He said reassuringly as I shrugged.

"I know, I just don't want to leave you." I muttered quietly under my breath. John pulled me to him and wrapped me up in one of his warm hugs as I wrapped my own arms around his torso and held him tightly.

It was true; I didn't want to leave him. Bad things always happened when I did. And I knew that it was probably taking all of John's self control to let me go, I couldn't even begin to imagine how he must've felt the entire time I had been missing, I wouldn't know what to do if it had been him.

"We survived this, we can survive a few more weeks."

"We sound like a pair of sooks," I chuckled as I leant my chin on his chest so that I could look up at him. John was grinning as he pressed a kiss to my nose.

* * *

I stood at the bottom of the stairs with the box of Ford's belongings at my feet. My friends stood around me as they conversed together. Rodney was telling me everything he wanted me to bring back for him from Earth and John was telling me to bring back some few bags of popcorn.

"I used up the last bag months ago," he explained as I rolled my eyes at him. Teyla laughed from my left.

"Oh," Rodney suddenly exclaimed, "and some of those little chocolate thingy's with the caramel in the middle, I love those." He said with a grin.

"You guys will be lucky if I bring you back anything but a lump of coal." I said sarcastically to them as Rodney crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ok, Santa," he said sarcastically, "Just bring me back something with a high sugar content. You know how my blood sugar always messes up."

"Yes, Rodney, you never shut up about it." I scoffed at him. He suddenly raised a finger.

"Oh! You know what would be really good as well? One of those lint rollers, I keep finding these pesky little hairs on my shirts and it's really annoying—"

"Dial the gate!" I shouted up at the technician, cutting Rodney off and his annoying demands. From my left Teyla was shaking her head in laughter at Rodney. I was relieved when I could hear the chevrons locking. Rodney was looked peeved when I met his gaze, I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"I'll bring you back something nice." I promised him. He perked up and smirked at John and Teyla triumphantly.

"All set?" A new voice joined as I looked over my shoulder at Elizabeth entering the room as she came to a stop near me. I nodded to her.

"Yep." I said as I picked up my duffle bag and hooked it around my shoulder. John bent down and picked up the box and handed it to me. "Thanks," I said to him as he nodded to me.

"I hope these next couple of weeks won't be as bad as the past six you've just had." Elizabeth said with slight grin as I shrugged.

"Let's hope so." I said with a sigh. Elizabeth smiled at me.

"Be safe." She said to me as I nodded. The gate connected as my little group looked over at the shimmering wormhole. "Oh, Doctor Weir I just have one request?" I asked her suddenly as Elizabeth motioned for me to ask her. The others had taken great interest in my question also.

"If it's possible, I was hoping to return back to SGA-1. I already spoke to Lorne about it and he's fine with letting me go back." Elizabeth looked around at John, Teyla and Rodney; I looked at all of their expressions. Teyla was anxious and I could see it on her face that she really wanted me back on the team. Rodney didn't really look too fussed and I could tell I had surprised John as he was trying not to show too much emotion. I looked at Elizabeth's face as she met my gaze and grinned.

"I thought you might say that, so I already made the changes." She revealed as I beamed at her. "When you return you will report to Colonel Sheppard's team once more. Have a safe trip, Major." She said as I turned to the wormhole. I shared a quick look with John, he was showing that prideful smile that I loved as I waved to Teyla and nudged Rodney with my shoulder before I stepped through the gate.

* * *

W **hew! Finally the Lost boys arc is finally over! Although I loved writing about this I'm happy we'll be moving on in the season now. Don't worry about next chapter, there's going to be another little time skip about her Earth time and we'll be jumping into the episode Epiphany, which is of course, another brilliant favorite of mine and I'm sure many people!**

 **I want to thank you all on the feedback and everything you guys do, without all of you we wouldn't be at chapter 50! You guys inspire me to write so much and I appreciate and love you all so much for this!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Teekee hut** \- thank you for being so honest! I totally get where you're coming from and I do see some flaws in my writing in those scenes, I guess I'm just a sucker for happy endings and like to see everyone happy and having closure. I kind of just thought that them holding hands was more showing Ford that she was his to be a bit spiteful and so that she wouldn't wonder off this she probably would xD THAT SHIP NAME GIVES ME LIFE. Sheppia is now how I am going to refer to them both from now on, I love it so much you have no idea!

 **Adela** \- Thank you! Yes such a cute moment!

LoveStoryFanatic - Thank you! Yes it's been something that I've had planned out ever since I started thinking about this story, I felt like Ford was this big unanswered question in the series until the novels, but even then if someone didnt know about the novels they wouldn't know what happened either! We'll have to see about the others finding out, it could be this season, could be next season, we'll never know...

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed the long awaited reunion! ;)

 **Julka212** \- Yes that scene had been something I wished had happened in the series so I just put it in there myself, I feel like it was very fitting for them. I hope you enjoyed the cute moments between our Sheppia (ship name that Teekee hut came up with, which I adore!) I know i certainly did! ;) Also who gives a crap about Nathan anymore? He's just like meh now that they're back together! It's my pleasure to reply to them, I lvoe doing it!

 **sheppardlover928** \- Thank you and I'm glad you're happy with the Mia and Ford scene, thank you so much!


	51. Emergence - Chapter 51

**Hey guys! Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter, thanks for all the feedback for the last chapter, you all know I appreciate it so much! So this chapter takes place basically 2 weeks after the last chapter, Mia has already been to Earth and back, I did this because I couldn't be bothered writing all the reunions again seeing as we've had a lot of angsty for the past like 3 or 4 chapters, we need some good ole' team speak and Mia and Rodney bickering. There is a flashback within this chapter explaining what happened briefly and I hope you all enjoy my rendition of Epiphany!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"All I'm saying is, when you promised to bring me something back, I expected more than…this," Rodney muttered to me as I looked over my shoulder at him. He was holding the little potted cactus that I had brought him back from Arizona. I chuckled to myself as I looked back out of the Jumpers window.

"Be grateful that you got anything, Rodney."

"Yeah, none of us got anything." John said from the pilot seat next to me. I knew John wasn't sulking as he had received his present last night from me; let's just say it included some store bought lingerie that I knew would drive him mad.

"What is this thing anyway?" Ronon asked as he snatched the pot from Rodney and held it up to examine it.

"It's a plant, duh." Rodney snapped as he turned around in his seat and looked at his computer.

"It's a cactus," I explained to Ronon. "They grow near where I'm from on Earth. And seeing as Rodney demanded that I bring him something back I decided to get him something that reminded me of him." I said with a fake smile directed at Rodney as the scientist rolled his head and looked at me.

"Oh, how thoughtful of you. And how does that," he pointed at the plant, "remind you of me, huh?" He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at me.

"Because you are a right pain in my ass and so are those things." I said as the jumper filled with laughter. Rodney shook his head and went back to his laptop. I watched Ronon examine the cactus for a little longer before he set it down in the back of the jumper.

"Are you picking anything up from the planet?" John asked Rodney after a few minutes of silence.

"Nothing…seems to be uninhabited. Though the climate is something desirable, could be a good Alpha site."

"The only problem being that the Stargate is in orbit." I added as Rodney looked puzzled for a second but then realized what I had said was true. I turned my attention back out the window as I noticed something odd with the planet.

"Rodney?" I asked him as he looked at me over his shoulder. "Can you look at this for me?" I asked him as I pointed out the window. The others were curious as Ronon and Teyla shuffled closer. What I was seeing was a large crater in the planet. It was humongous.

"What is that?" Teyla asked.

"Is that from a meteor?" John asked Rodney.

"No," he said. "Look at it. The land all around it is the same level; the ridge around it is perfectly circular. Whatever that is, it's not natural." He said as he hurried back to his computer as I continued to stare at the crater. It was a few seconds later before I heard Rodney's computer beep. "Wait wait wait wait wait. There's something down there." He said quickly.

"What?" John asked.

"I don't know, but the system detected a small power spike. I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been scanning the crater."

"Alright, I'll take us down." John said as he steered the jumper towards the crater.

John landed the jumper a few clicks away from the range, as it was the only place through the foliage that he could land. I checked all my gear as the five of us headed out into the terrain.

From our distance it would be close to an hour's walk to reach the location that Rodney's computer had detected the power spike. The climate on this planet was nice; it was warm but not too hot that we would be sweating it out in a couple of minutes. There was a nice warm breeze rustling the trees around us as I watched Rodney, Teyla and Ronon lead up ahead. I was behind Teyla with John following up behind me as the five of us walked, hitting away some low hanging foliage.

"How does it feel being back on the team?" I heard John ask from behind me. I looked over my shoulder at him and fell back into step with him. I wasn't worried about Teyla or Ronon seeing us like this, they knew anyway, and Rodney was too immersed in his gadgets to pay us any attention whatsoever.

"Good, feels like old times." I said with a grin. John mirrored my expression.

"I know we didn't talk much about what you did back on Earth last night because of…" He trailed off, getting lost in his memories.

"Because of my fabulous outfit choices?" I finished for him. He stared down at me with a smug expression as I chuckled at his face.

"Yes, because of that. But…how was it?" He asked. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

Last night I had come in late, around one in the morning. I had gone straight to John's room as he hadn't been expecting me back so soon, the Daedalus had received a message from the SGC to report back ASAP so they had pushed the engines to beyond max to reach the nearest Stargated planet and drop us off so that we could gate to Atlantis. Needless to say John was pleased and we didn't really speak for the remainder of the night. When he had told me that they were leaving on a mission in the morning I had been adamant to join. I didn't care about having a couple days off rest, I just wanted to get back out here and return to my normal life.

"It was an emotional rollercoaster, let's say that…"

* * *

 _I stepped up to the very nice and modest house porch. The garden was perfectly sculpted with flowers blossoming and the hedges all neatly trimmed to the same length. I raised my fist and knocked on the white wooden door three times and then stood back a little. I played with my fingers nervously as I waited for someone to open the door. I knew someone was home as their car was in the driveway. Just when I was about to knock again the door opened and revealed a very beautiful older woman. Her short hair was light blonde and pulled back into a neat ponytail, her brown eyes were puzzled as she saw me standing before her. She was the same height as me and wore a smart white blouse and khaki colored trousers._

" _Hi, can I help you?" She asked with a smile. I smiled back at her as I tried my hardest to steady my heartbeat._

" _I'm sorry to barge in on you like this, but I don't have a lot of time to do this. My name is Mia. Mia Sumner." I saw her face change immediately. Her smile dropped as she looked me up and down quickly. Her eyes returned to meet my gaze as she had a firm look._

" _You need to leave, now."_

" _Ms. Banks, please," I pleaded with her; she was about to slam the door in my face when I heard another voice._

" _Mum, who is it?" I recognized it as Emily, her voice sounded like it was coming from upstairs and from my angle I couldn't make out if Emily had seen me yet._

" _Solicitors, just go to your room, Emily." She said to her over her shoulder as Naomi turned back to me with a glare. "My daughter doesn't know about you."_

" _Actually," I said, causing her face to change into shock. "She does. Emily found me." Naomi was silenced as I tried my best to be as reassuring and gentle as I could be in this type of situation. "A couple months ago I was attending my father's funeral and Emily was there. She knew who I was and she told me everything. Please, all I want is to talk to you and her." Naomi looked furious at the fact that Emily had gone behind her back to find me, but she couldn't deny it any longer, the cat was out of the bag now. She was silent as she moved out of the way for me to step inside her home. I glanced around, seeing photo's on the wall of Emily as a child and of Naomi and her together. I was stunned when I saw a baby photo of Emily when she was three years old; she looked exactly like me._

" _This way." Naomi said to me as I followed her into an office. She shut the door as I took a seat on the sofa pushed up against the wall. Naomi went and sat opposite me in the armchair. "You wanted to talk, so talk." I brushed off her rudeness and abruptness as her being in shock. I took a deep breath and spoke._

" _I know this is hard for you Ms. Banks—"_

" _Naomi, please."_

" _Naomi, but the truth is, Emily is my family and she is mine. She's the only family I have left and…recently I was in a situation I thought I wouldn't come out of. I know you never wanted Emily and I to meet but did you honestly think that this day wouldn't come?" She sat there quietly. "At first it was hard for me to accept that I have a half-sister, I thought Emily was absolutely mad and I couldn't imagine my father ever having another child, but he did; and I didn't have any part in her life. I'm not saying that I wish Emily had been in my life 'cause she would've gone through the same heartbreak that I did. But we both deserved to know. I know it's in the past and we can't change it, but we can change our future. I get why you kept her away, my dad was never around, he didn't exactly raise me and you didn't want that disappointment that I had for her too, I get it."_

" _I just wanted to protect her." She said. "Your father was the one who broke it off, A few weeks into our relationship he broke up with me, saying how he couldn't commit to a relationship while he was in the corp., and when I found out that I was pregnant I decided to hide the baby from him. You're right; I didn't want Emily growing up with an absentee father who could never be there for her…" I pressed my lips together as I ran a hand through my hair._

" _I don't blame you, to be honest." I said as Naomi met my gaze. "He was never around, he never raised me. My grandfather and a nanny raised me. He only returned a couple times during the year and then when I was seventeen I joined the Army and I was disowned. I hadn't spoken to him in eight years when we reconnected on a mission just over a year ago, and then he died." I could see the news still troubled Naomi, she probably felt guilty just like my grandfather did. "My life has been hard, unbearable at sometimes. I've had bucket load of bad things happen to me over the years with only a handful of good things, and one of those things can be Emily and I know Emily wants this." Naomi was quiet for a few seconds before she sighed._

" _I know she does, ever since she was a child she has always asked for her father or a sibling, what right do I have to deny her the family she craves for?"_

" _It's your decision, if you want me to leave, I'll leave." I stated to her. She held my gaze for a second._

" _No, you can stay. I've been treating Emily like a child for far too long, it's time I let her make her own choices. Emily you can come in now!" She hollered to the door. I smirked and looked over my shoulder as the door opened slowly and Emily poked her head in. She looked sheepish and guilty at being caught eavesdropping but perked up when she saw me sitting here._

" _Mum, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to go behind your back." Emily apologized as her cerulean gaze darted from me to her mum. Naomi beckoned her over to her._

" _I'm not mad at you, baby. I just wish you would've told me before. I guess I only have myself to blame for it, I knew that this day would come, and I'm sorry for not letting you know Mia sooner." Naomi hugged Emily tighter as I could hear the older woman sobbing._

" _It's ok, I forgive you." Emily said as she wiped away her tears. I smiled at the heartwarming display before me as Emily pulled away from her mum and looked over at me with a smile. "Can we all go out for dinner tonight? If that's not too much trouble, I just really want to get to know you." Emily asked enthusiastically with a grin. I returned her smile and nodded._

" _I would love that." I replied. Emily looked to her mum who also nodded._

" _I think that's a wonderful idea," she agreed._

" _If it's ok," I said to the both of them, catching their attention. "I know someone who would really like to meet you…your granddad." Emily whole face lit up at the prospect of meeting her biological granddad. I caught Naomi's gaze, she was a little hesitant about this I could tell, seeing as it was her and my granddad that made the deal to keep the two of us separated. "Naomi," I said her name. "It's ok, everything is fine." I didn't want Emily to catch on about the little secret that we knew. Granddad is a changed man, he had made a big mistake keeping Emily and I apart and he'll regret it until the day he dies, so he wants to make amends. And when I had spoken to him about me meeting up with Emily he had asked if it was possible for him to come to, after all, she is his granddaughter too…_

" _This is the best day, ever!"_

* * *

"Sounds like you had your hands full that week." John commented with a grin.

"Honestly, it was perfect. Sure it was awkward between Naomi and my granddad but the two spoke privately after and talked it out. Now Emily and my Granddad are planning their first fishing trip. They've got eighteen years to make up for."

"Seems like everything is turning out how it should be," John said with a smirk as he quickly pressed a chaste kiss to my cheek. I giggled and looked over at the others, unaware of the two of us.

"I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Stop being such a pessimist." John chuckled as he nudged me gently. "You're alive," he dropped his voice. "Ford's alive. You've got your family bonding all together, Teyla and Ronon are cool with us and best of all, you've got me." He said, jabbing a thumb at his chest as he stood proudly as I rolled my eyes.

"Something always goes wrong once everything is going right." This time John rolled his eyes at me as I shrugged. Well it was true. Bad things always happened to me once I had become complacent, that was just my world. "I'm beginning to think I must've pissed off a lot of people in a past life to deserve all of this bad karma."

John swung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his chest as he bent his head down to whisper in my ear.

"I'll protect you." He promised as I grinned up at him.

"Why do you have to park so far away!" Rodney called from up ahead. John removed his arm quickly and just before the scientist turned around to glare at him.

"This ridge was a little further away than it looked. You can't just land a jumper anywhere, Rodney." John scolded as he joined him at the front of our group.

"It doesn't matter now, we're almost there." He waved his hand and went back to looking at his gadget.

"Rodney, do you even know what it is we are looking for?" Teyla asked as she swatted away a low hanging fern.

"Yeah, well whatever it is, it's around here somewhere." He replied to her.

"What's around here?" Ronon asked. I walked up to the Satedan and smacked his side lightly.

"He has no idea." I said to him as I watched Ronon smirk down at me.

"Whatever it was that was causing the energy spike we detected from the puddle jumper, and I heard that by the way."

"Good." I said with a sly grin directed at him. Rodney rolled his eyes.

"Do you have any idea what that looks like?" John asked him.

"I'll know it when I see it." Rodney replied, staring at his gadget. He turned to his left and paused. "And I see it." He announced as the four of us hurry up to him as John pulls down some vines hanging low.

We enter a small alcove with a doorway leading into the ridge, from what I could see it was underground and very dark.

"Looks like a door." Ronon stated.

"Yes it is remarkably door-like," Rodney snapped as I slapped him on the arm for being a dickhead. John goes and examines the door. He looks up and down the ridge and then back to the door.

"Well, it looks like the only way through the ridge anyway. It runs for miles. Alright let's check it out." John said as he aimed his gun and walked towards it.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. There's something there!" Rodney exclaimed as John halted a few inches from the archway.

"What?" John asked.

"Some kind of energy barrier around the threshold."

I turned my gaze to the doorway as I narrowed my eyes, trying to see anything out of the ordinary. John had picked up a large stone and threw it at the empty space, I felt my jaw slack when I watched a blue glow illuminate the stone and it suddenly disappeared.

"It disappeared." Teyla stated.

"Or it went right through a cloak," John added.

"It has many of the same properties as a cloaking field." Rodney said as he examined his gadget.

"Yeah, and the Ancients did tend to hide all the really cool stuff." John said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they made this ridge." I muttered.

"I just want to be able to explain these readings better before we step through," Rodney clicked his fingers and looked over at Teyla and Ronon. "Get me a branch." He ordered as he turned to John. "You got tape? Because I have a camera," he said as he dug into his bag and pulled out a small handheld camera. Ronon comes back and passes Rodney a rather large log. "I didn't ask for a log," he said with a glare as Ronon backs off as Teyla gives him a reassuring glance and hands Rodney a well-sized branch. "Thank you." Rodney said to her. "Ok, so tape it to the stick." Rodney said as he held the camera to the branch as John began taping the camera to it. "We extend the camera through, record for a few minutes, pull it back and play the recorder."

"Yeah, MALP on a stick." John mutters to him as Rodney rolls his eyes at him.

"Yes, MALP on a stick. Very clever, are we done?"

"Yep." John replies as he cuts off the tape and stands back up next to me. Rodney takes the branch from Teyla as he begins to feed it through the portal, the camera disappears as Teyla wonders over to the side of the cave.

"Mia, come here." She called me over as I turned my head and walked over to her, she was pointing at some Ancient writing on the wall. "I am not fluent in Ancient but I do recognize a few words, 'welcome' and 'ascension'." She moved over so that I could look at the words. I could read some Ancient but I couldn't speak it. I scanned over the text.

"Ascension?" I heard Ronon ask.

"To a higher plane of existence. The race of people who built that Stargates they eventually evolved to a point where they ascended to a state of pure energy." Rodney explained to him.

"That'd be great," Ronon said with a smirk as Rodney gave him a side glance.

"Yeah well sadly it's a matter of evolution," I could tell that Rodney was making fun of Ronon once more as I turned my attention back to the text.

"You got anything?" I heard John ask from beside me as I jumped slightly, he had snuck up on me.

"The beginning is saying something about a welcome and a sanctuary from a great evil," I told him as he frowned at the text.

"The Wraith?"

"Possibly, the word ascension is used a few times and from what I'm guessing the Ancients built this place as a safe haven for Ancients to ascend without fear of being culled by the Wraith."

"Sounds great!" Rodney exclaimed as he had finished looking at the footage from the camera. "Any volunteers?" He asked, directing his gaze at John.

"I'll go." John said as I gripped his arm.

"Wait a second, I haven't finished translating, what if it's dangerous?" I asked them both as Rodney waved his hand at me.

"The Ancients built this place as a sanctuary, I doubt there'll be anything dangerous in there," Rodney tried to reason as I ground my teeth together. "Just, you know, back out if you encounter anything problematic."

"Problematic?" John asked nervously.

"Yeah like poisonous atmosphere, acid atmosphere, no atmosphere. Hey, it's a MALP on a stick; only shows you so much." Rodney said with a point to the camera. John looked like he wanted to throttle the scientist as he sighed.

"Ok, here goes." He said as I watched him walk to the threshold. I grimaced as John stepped forwards and pushes his p-90 into the field. The blue glow envelops him as he slowly goes forward, his hands disappearing behind the cloak. "Weird, it's kind of hurting my hands a little." He mutters as I feel my heart skip a beat.

"Ok, so get out of there," Rodney tells him. I could see the strain on John's face as he tries to pull his arms free.

"I'm trying to, but it's pulling me in." He states as Ronon latches on to the back of his vest.

"I got you." He said as Ronon tries pulling him out, but as far as I could see John was slowly moving forward.

"Ok, come guys get me out of here." John says to us as Teyla and I run to him. Teyla grabs the vest at the bottom as I go for the middle, digging my fingers into his side and pulling as hard as I could.

"I'm trying!" Ronon growls as I could feel my arms straining.

"Well, try harder!" John yells. I dig my feet into the ground but I could still feel John moving into the field.

"No no no no! We proved this, it shouldn't be happening!" Rodney exclaimed.

"Well it is! It's pulling me in!" John groaned. The three of us try desperately to pull him out but I knew that it wasn't going to work.

"It's too strong!" Teyla cried. I could see that half of John's body was now through the barrier and that our fingers were coming dangerously close to it.

"Don't touch the barrier!" Rodney shouts out to us. The three of us let go as John is sucked through and disappears form sight. Teyla and I stare at each other in shock as I try not to freak out at this.

"Why'd you tell us to let go?" Ronon rounds on Rodney.

"Because you weren't going to stop and the last thing we need is the three of you getting pulled in too." Rodney explained.

"Why would the Ancestors create something that would do this?" Teyla asked desperately.

"I don't know." Rodney replied.

"Well figure it out or you're going in after him." Ronon threatened as I hurried over to the Satedan.

"Ronon stop. Thinking rashly isn't going to help him," I told him as he looked at me for a quick second and then walked off.

"Obviously the portal reacts differently to living matter than it does to inanimate objects. It might even be specific to humans." Rodney explained as he looked at me. "I need you to try and translate more of that text." He said to me as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Wishing I did before we sent him through?" I snapped as Rodney looked at me sympathetically.

"Let me fix my mistake."

I could tell that Rodney was beating himself up about this, and he should, he was the one who didn't want to wait before I had tried to understand more of the text. With a sigh I nodded and headed back over to the text.

I tried to understand some of the words but it seemed that either some words had faded overtime or I just couldn't understand it. It was even harder seeing as I didn't have my reference to look at, I was just going in blind here.

* * *

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Teyla. Please respond." Teyla radioed him for about the third time.

"You're wasting your time and it's not going to work," Rodney said to her as he was looking at his device. Teyla looked at me desperately as I nodded for her to keep trying.

"Colonel if you can hear me, please respond."

Rodney moved over to the camera and begins to play it back again, "There's absolutely nothing on this tape that could possibly indicate any kind of…oh no," he groans. I turn my head quickly, forgetting the text and running over to Rodney.

"What?" Ronon and I both say at the same time.

"The memory's full," Rodney stated. I frowned, that was impossible, there was like two hours of memory and the thing had never been used before. "It's recorded almost two hours and…and the battery just died! Dammit!" Rodney cursed as I held a hand to my forehead. I couldn't comprehend what the hell was going on, I just wanted to know that John was ok, that he was alive.

"Why are you wasting time?" Ronon growled at him.

"That is the one thing I am not doing. Ok look, I need something living, like a flower or a blossom." Rodney said as he spotted a bunch of flowers and hurried over to them, he started tugging on the bush as he ripped a few off. "To test a theory. Work with me here people. Look, if I'm right, we need to hurry." Rodney said quickly as he hurried back over to the portal as Ronon gave him an unimpressed look.

"What are you doing, McKay?"

"I am trying to determine how much faster time is passing on the other side of the portal than it is here."

"Why would time progress faster?" Teyla asked as I tried to piece together what Rodney was saying. It seemed to all start making sense to me.

"It doesn't make any sense," Ronon added.

"That is what I'm trying to prove. Now just wait." Rodney said as he shoved the branch into the portal. I went and stood next to Teyla as the four of us waited.

Rodney counted to twenty and pulled out the branch, I expected to see the bright and colorful yellow blossoms but instead they were all withered.

"A whole lot faster!" Rodney said in shock as he stared, wide-eyed at them. I gasped and looked at the portal. I just wanted to jump through it, to find John, but that would be stupid and he wouldn't want me to risk my life for his. I had to wait this out and hopefully we'd find a way to rescue him.

"The blossoms have aged several hours at least."

"Or a day," I muttered, staring at the withered flowers.

"We might be able to pick him up in the jumper but I need to get back to Atlantis," Rodney said as he started to walk out of the alcove. Ronon followed and stopped him.

"You're not going anywhere."

"It is a time dilation field," Rodney said angrily. "Which means that time is passing much faster on the other side of the portal than it is here for us. I'm not sure of the exact ratio but I need to go now."

"Why?" Ronon demanded. I wanted to hit the Satedan, even though I knew he wouldn't understand anything Rodney was saying, he had to realize that the more we stalled Rodney, the less chance we had of saving John.

"I don't have time to explain temporal compression theory to you when every moment we stand here debating this, literally hours could be going by for Colonel Sheppard. Look, hours equate to days, and days for us could mean years for him. Do you get it now?" Rodney barked at him. Ronon seemed to understand the easy explanation more as he backed off as Rodney turned to Teyla and I. "Teyla, I need you to follow me back as far as the jumper and I'll explain what I need you to do on the way. Mia, try and decode more of that text to see if there is a way to get him or our shut the whole thing down, and you," he looked at Ronon, "Stay here."

"And do what?" Ronon called.

"Don't go through, any of you." Rodney suddenly lit up as turned to Teyla. "Give me the knapsack." She quickly removed it. "Empty your pockets, everything you might need to survive." Rodney said as I quickly delved into my vest and pulled out my ration bars and canteen. I hurried over and shoved them into the bag as the others did the same. Once Rodney had closed it he ran over to the portal and threw it through as he and Teyla turned and ran off into the foliage.

I knew that it was going to be close to an hour before Teyla returned so I went back to reading the text on the wall. Ronon was pacing back and forth in the little alcove and it was driving me insane.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" Ronon barked at me as I scoffed and turned around.

"Excuse me?" I asked with a brow raised.

"You're a scientist too, aren't you?"

"No, I'm a mechanical engineer, there's a difference. And what good would I possibly do by jumping through the portal?"

"I thought you cared about him, that you two are together." He snapped as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I do care about him, but it's better for me to be out here trying to help get him out then being stuck in there! I have to keep trying because if I don't then I might just loose it, ok? So shut up and let me read." Ronon fell silent after that.

* * *

Teyla arrived around just over an hour later. That was quick seeing as if she had walked it would've taken her nearly two hours to get back.

"That was quick," Ronon commented as Teyla looked dejected.

"Not fast enough, I fear." She tosses all of the bags she was carrying through the portal. She turns to Ronon, "get the camera. Doctor McKay would like us to try again." She said as Ronon complied and retrieved the camera. "Any luck with the translation?" She asked me as I shrugged.

"I'm trying, but it's been a while since I've read Ancient. I think I'm getting close to some words here but I seriously need my data tablet with all the research on it." Teyla nodded as she knelt down and changed out the batteries.

"To see if Sheppard is still alive?" Ronon asked her as I felt my stomach drop.

"And to determine the true passage of time on the other side." Teyla holds the branch as she pushes it into the portal. "One, two, three." She mutters to herself as she pulls out the branch.

"That wasn't long enough to see anything," Ronon tells her as Teyla quickly plays back the footage.

"And yet it seems to have recorded several minutes," the three of us continue to watch the tape, I can see the bags that she had just thrown through and a makeshift fire that John had made which gave me hope that he is still alive. "He is not there." Teyla sighs.

* * *

I looked down at my watch and groaned, pulling at my hair and then running my hands down my face. It had just hit the three-hour mark since John had been in the time dilation field. I glared at the text before me, I had managed to translate the beginning of the text, it explained that the Ancients had built this place for their fellow kind and descendants to come here and ascend in peace and without fear of the Wraith but I hadn't been able to figure out any after that.

Rodney had radioed in about ten minutes ago to say that he was back and was running some tests up in the jumper, trying to figure out if we could fly into the field and get John, but I doubted it would be that easy, if it was then I doubt it'd be safe from the Wraith. No, the Ancients were too smart for that.

I rubbed my eyes as I looked over the stone text one more time, some of the words I had never seen before but there were two words that I could remember trying to work out but it was slipping my mind.

"Oh my god." I muttered. Teyla had heard me as she walked over to me.

"What's wrong?" She asked. I held my head.

"He probably thinks we've abandoned him. According to our calculations about the time difference he's already had months inside the field. He has no idea about the field or that he's only been gone three hours." I said to her. Teyla could obviously sense my distress, I had been calm and collected for the most part, I didn't want her and Ronon to worry about me, but now I was worried. I didn't want John thinking that I didn't care about him.

"Once we save him, he will understand about everything. I am sure that he would realize there is a very good reason why we have not gone to find him."

"What if we can't get him out? What if he's stuck there forever? I'm not letting him stay in there alone!"

"We will get him out, I promise you this." Teyla said as I walked away and sat down on a nearby log and held my head. I guess everything was sinking in for me.

"We don't even know if he's alive. The footage didn't show anything, he could be dead for all we know." I said in exasperation. I watched as Teyla and Ronon shared a look together as I hung my head in worry.

It was almost thirty minutes later when I heard Teyla call us over. "Mia, Ronon!" She said as I jumped up. She was re-watching the video footage as she held it out for us to see. We hadn't examined all the footage in depth, we had only paid attention to the time so I was curious as what she had found. "He left a sign for us to see." She said as I noticed that arrow made out of small pebbles. I smirked.

"He must have gone to look for another way out." Ronon said.

"At least we know he may still be alive." Teyla added as I sighed. We recorded this a few hours ago, which meant months for him. He would've left that months ago, who knows if he was in fact still alive.

" _Teyla, Ronon, Mia. We're coming down in the jumper and should touch down in a few minutes. Meet us at the landing site."_ I heard Rodney's voice come over the radio.

"Understood," Teyla replied as she closed the camera. Teyla and Ronon shared a look as they headed out. I was still standing in the alcove, staring at the portal.

"Oi," Ronon said to me as I turned my head to look at them both. I could see the warning in their eyes.

"Mia, don't so this," Teyla warned as I held her gaze. They were around ten feet away from me; if I ran quick enough, I could make it. Someone had to tell John that we hadn't abandoned him, that we were going to save him. And well, if there was no way out, at least I'd be spending our time together and away from the clutches of the Wraith and military.

"I'm sorry." I said to them as I spun on my heel and launched myself at the portal. I heard their cries for me to stop but I didn't listen, I reached the threshold as I didn't slow down and felt a cool sensation flow over me. I didn't open my eyes until I was on the other side. I was in the time dilation field.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed, many of you might've guessed that I would've done this, and it's really cute and funny! Also I love writing bickering between Rodney and Mia, it honestly makes me giggle and I love their dialog about the cactus in the beginning, ahah.**

 **Thank you everyone, I love all my readers and reviewers, even the silent ones!**

 **REPLIES**

 **thompsonmaria09** \- Yes everyones happy! I love everyone being happy again!

 **Adela** \- Thank you, hope you enjoyed the Mia, Emily and mummy flashback ahaha!

 **sheppardlover928** \- Hahahah I can't remember we had a sex scene between them two! I think it was when they were on the daedalus? and the gym scene doesnt count as well they didn't do it xD John's a great guy at heart, he means well and let's not deny that he's a sexy boy too, i would never have gone away from him for that long xD I actually hadnt planned anyone for Nathan, maybe i will now that you've said it! Hope you enjoyed!

 **Julka212** \- Their interactions with the breakfast aftermath still make me laugh, I always thought that it would be something that they would do once they found out about them both. Ronon is literally like the annoying big brother that you can't shake and always comes out with these brilliant one liners, expect more from him in the future xD Yeah so I skipped over Aiden's family shit because this story had become too depressing and angsty, hope you don't mind! It was just so that we could get along in the season seeing as we're finally over the half way point now! Hopefully we'll see Aiden in the furture, you'll never know ;) Thank you, see you next next week

 **GoldenGod48** \- Your wish has been granted! xD

 **Guest 64** \- Aw thank you! I appreciate it so much! Yeah John's a little cutie in private with her sometimes! I always thought he would be with the person he loves! Really? Oh that's great I thought it would be a bit abrupt anyway, but i'm glad that arc is behind us and we can focus on the rest of the season, I still have many things planned!


	52. Emergence - Chapter 52

**Hi guys! Is it just me or did this week speed by? I can't believe it's the end of the week already! Anyway, all of your reviews from last chapter made me laugh as you were all so happy about Mia going through the portal. This chapter is a bit more lengthy then the other because while it does span a long time I do wrap up the entire episode in this chapter. I hope it doesn't seem to rushed in places but I really didn't want to have to do another chapter with this episode so I did cram it all into one. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it still! Thank you everyone!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

John opened the door to his small hut, the knapsack he had found at the entrance site grasped in his hand as he faltered at the door, surprised to see Teer sitting there, waiting for him. John smiled at her nervously as he shut the door behind him.

"You don't have to wait up for me," he said to her. Teer didn't react to his words.

"You've been gone over a day," she stated as John looked away guiltily.

"Yeah well, after I found my weapons, I decided to take a run all the way back to the portal and look what I found," John said as he showed her the bag full of supplies. "I don't know what took them so long, but my friends finally sent some supplies through."

"There are people here who care for you." Teer said sadly. John met her blue gaze, her eyes were similar color to Mia's, and it was painful for him to make that connection. He hadn't seen her in five months; he wondered why she hadn't come for him everyday, why no one had come for him. Had they abandoned him? John sighed as he remembered Teer's question.

"Sorry, I should've told somebody."

"I knew," Teer said, causing John to look over at her and frown in confusion. "I was following your journey in my mind. I was with you since you left the cloister."

"Is that some special power of yours you haven't told me about?" John asked with a clever smirk.

"Yes." Teer stated.

"Oh," John scoffed.

"I've been with you each time you've searched for a means to leave us. As Hedda has the power to heal, I am able to see images in my mind. It is not uncommon for those on the path to ascension to gain such abilities." Teer explained to him.

"I wish you would've told me, I could've used you out there. It took me forever to find this stuff!" John exclaimed. John looked back at Teer when she didn't respond to see her staring at the ground with a dream-like face. "Teer, what's wrong?" He asked her as he knelt down next to her.

"I did not foresee this."

"Foresee what?" John asked her, he placed his hand on her shoulder as he tried to reassure her.

"There's a woman. She's here, calling out for you." John felt his heart beginning to race.

"Who is she?" John asked. Teer was silent as she continued to watch the vision she was seeing.

"She's scared, the beast is chasing her! It's the woman you described to me, it's Mia." Teer met John's gaze for a second before he tore out of the room. Teer called after him but John was already running out of the cloister.

* * *

I stood in the dark cave as I turned the light on my p-90 on. I shone it around my surroundings as I took in the firepit and the pebbled arrow. I noticed the knapsack was no longer here, the pebbles in the dirt had sunken in and it looked like some moss had started to grow on them, which confused the hell out of me knowing that somehow time was moving at a much faster pace here. I looked around the cave, trying to see if I could use anything to my advantage but I guessed the best thing for me would to follow the arrow that John had made and see where it would take me. I could tell it was night as there was a hole above me that I could see the stars through, I cursed in my head, it was going to be a lot harder to find anything at this time of night, I really needed the daylight to see but I didn't want to waste any time.

The cave was long and dark, there were small pockets where moonlight would filter in but other then that the light on my p-90 was the only thing I had. I was scared that something was going to jump out at me from the shadows, I had to tell myself that at least it wouldn't be the Wraith, it didn't really make me feel any better.

I reached the end of the cave as I emerged into a dense forest, the trees were tall and dead leaves covered the ground. I scanned my light around me, trying to see any buildings or animals but there was nothing. All I could see from the light was this damn forest; it seemed to stretch on for miles, I sighed and then took a deep breath in.

"Come on, Mia. It's just a forest, you can do this." I whispered to myself as I wondered deeper into the forest.

My nerves were sky high as I continued walking through the forest, I was scared. Scared for the fact that I might be walking in the complete opposite direction I should be going in, and the fact that it was dark and eerie and I had no idea if I was going to find John. What if I got lost here and was never found again? I swallowed the large lump in my throat.

"John!" I called out into the dark. I knew it was stupid, there might be some not friendly people around, but I'd take not friendly people over this endless dark any day. People I can deal with, wondering around by myself, I can't handle.

"John! John where are you?" I shouted once more. I squinted in the darkness as I sighed and continued walking straight. I was hoping that this might've been the way that John had walked. I was doing a lot of hoping and wishing right now, but really that's all I had.

* * *

I must've walked for nearly twenty minutes when something roared in the silence of the night. My whole body shook from the sheer rage and sound of the monsters roar as I swung around, aiming my gun into the darkness. I waited on baited breath as I tried to see whatever it was that had made that horrible sound. My fingers shook from the cold and fear as I tried to keep my focus, but I was terrified. The monster roared again, this time it could only be around twenty meters away from me and yet I still couldn't see it. I could hear the thumping footsteps as something shimmered just beyond a fern as I freaked and fired bullets into it. I watched as they hit something solid but it didn't seem to deter the beast, in fact it only seemed to make it madder. The monster roared once more as I flinched from the ringing in my ears, when I looked back I couldn't see any shimmering as I spun around, trying to find it.

"John!" I screamed desperately, hoping that by some twist of fate he would hear me.

Suddenly I was stuck in the stomach as I screamed and went flying through the air, my stomach erupted into pain as I hit the ground; the air left my lungs as I gasped and tried to control the spinning of my eyes. The monster roared right above me as I managed to roll away and push myself onto my legs. Without a glance back I took off at a run, leaving my gun behind. From what I had just seen before, my guns wouldn't do much damage to it anyway.

There was a horrible pain in my side and I had a suspicion that I might've had a broken rib but I wasn't slowing down to check, my adrenaline was the only thing keeping me going as I pushed through the dense foliage and emerged into a large open field. The moonlight gave me something to see as I surveyed the area quickly, I couldn't see any buildings or civilization nearby so I cursed loudly.

I spun around when I heard the monster roar once more as I saw the shimmer emerge into the field that I was in. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat as I took out my knife and held it up defensively in front of me.

"You want a piece of me? Come and get me then!" I screamed at it as suddenly the monster disappeared and then reappeared a few feet in front of me. I didn't even have a chance to defend myself as I felt another hit to my chest as I was flung back. What I did feel was an almighty pain to the back of my head as I felt all my limbs go numb, my vision suddenly went back as I could feel something warm trickle down the back of my neck. I couldn't move anything to see what was happening, all I could hear was the monster roaring again and then I heard another noise, it sounded like someone calling my name but I was lost before I had a chance to figure out who it was.

* * *

I woke up to simple sounds, like the chirping of birds and I could hear the sound of people chattering in the distance. I could hear the sound of running water. I was still too weak to open my eyes so I used my other senses, I could feel the soft mattress under my back and the cotton blanket that was tucked up to my chest. A cool breeze blew over my face and I smelled scented flowers and food being cooked nearby. I heard something nearby as I felt my body freeze; there was someone in the room with me. They placed something on the table as I tried to remember how I got here. I remembered arriving back at Atlantis and surprising John, and he had told me about how we were going to go on a mission of some sort…and then nothing. Was I kidnapped by the Wraith? By Wraith worshippers? There was a dull ache in the back of my head as I tilted my head to the side; it ached when I moved it and my stomach felt tight. Like I had been hit by something. Had someone knocked me out?

I opened my eyes slowly; as to not alert whoever was in the room with me that I had woken up. Bright light shone into my eyes as I squeezed them shut in reaction and tried again. This time they adjusted as I managed to look around the small room. It looked like a one-bedroom hut equipped with a dining table and chairs, a bench pushed by the window and a door leading out. I spotted the man who was in the room with me, he had long dark hair that touched his shoulders and wore simple peasant clothes. His back was too me so I couldn't see his face, I saw that he was putting food onto a plate as I looked down at myself. Someone had changed me out of my uniform and into similar clothes; a plain cotton white shirt and loose brown shorts. I threw the covers off me as I dove for the plate. I could see a knife of some sort as I grasped it tightly in my hand and held it up defensively. The man jumped and gasped in shock as he stumbled away, holding his hands up.

"Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?" I demanded off him as I stood back with the knife. The man looked petrified of me as he looked around the room for something. "Answer me!" I shouted. Suddenly the door opened as a young woman walked in. Her hair was dark and curly, she wore a simple red dress and looked at the man in fear. The woman then looked at me.

"It's ok, Mia. We're not here to harm you." She said calmly.

"Tell me where I am!"

"You don't remember?" The woman asked me. I shook my head. "The beast attacked you, we barely managed to save you. You had a severe head wound and broken bones. You lost a lot of blood."

"How did you heal me? What's the beast? I don't remember anything about that, for all I know you could be lying!" I threatened them. I saw the man lean into the woman as they whispered something I couldn't hear.

The woman replied, "He went to fetch her weapons." She said. While they were distracted I made a run for it. I shoved them both out of the way as I dashed out of the hut.

I ran out into a small village, a dozen people were walking around and talking, some preparing food, others gathering water as I looked around quickly. People stopped and stared at me and began whispering, others looked at me in fear as I remembered that I was still holding the knife. None were particularly hostile towards me so I dropped the knife. There had to be a reason why I was here, I just couldn't remember. What had they said? I had banged my head; maybe it had done more then make me loose blood.

"Who are you?" I asked the woman and man when I spotted them leaving the house. The woman seemed to be the more reasonable of the two.

"I am Teer. And this is my brother Avrid, we are the descendant's of the one's you call Ancients."

"What is this place?" I asked Teer.

"The cloister, it is where we meditate. Please, we mean you no harm, John will be back soon—"

"John's here?" I asked them, surprised. Teer nodded.

"We will explain everything to you, I promise." She said calmly. I still didn't know if I could trust these people, for all I knew they could've been the one's who bashed my head in and made me loose my memory. I heard a child's laughter from behind me, it caused me to look over my shoulder. I saw a young girl who looked similar to Teer; and she was walking with John. I recognized him immediately; he wore similar clothes to me. A white shirt and brown pants with fur boots, his beard had grown out since I had last seen him, which made me reaslise that I probably hadn't seen him in a while. In his hand I saw him holding a p-90 but he dropped it when he saw me standing here. He jogged over to me, I could see the relief in his eyes as he reached me, he went to say something but I beat him to it.

"What's happened? Where are we? Who are these people?" I asked him as John grasped my arms in his and met my gaze. I saw the relief fade into confusion as Teer appeared by our side.

"It seems she has lost some of her memory from the blow." Teer explained as John looked back at me with guilt in his eyes.

"How do you feel, are you ok?" He asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"My head hurts and I'm freaking out a lot. Can some please explain to me what's going on?" I asked desperately as John nodded to Teer. She gave me a reassuring smile as she turned and left with Avrid and the young girl. John took my hand as he pulled me into the house that I had awoken in. He shut the door behind him and pulled me over to the bed. I sat down hesitantly as he sat next to me and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"What's the last thing you remember?" He asked me. I sighed and rubbed my head.

"I—I don't know. I guess coming back to Atlantis after going home, and you telling me about some mission…and then it just goes blank." I explained as John looked away nervously. "What is it?" I asked him.

"Mia, that was five months ago…"

"What?" I screeched. "Five months? I've lost five months of my life?" I stood up and started pacing. John tried to stop and pull me to him but I kept wriggling out of his grip.

"Just stop, this isn't going to help you. Just sit down and calm down." John said as I rounded on him.

"How can I calm down? I have no idea how I got here, what we're doing here for the past five months. There are people telling me that I got attacked by some beast that I can't remember about and you're telling me to calm down?"

"Technically I've been here for five months, you got here three days ago." John said as I stalled. I faced him.

"What? What are you saying?" I asked him. John sighed as he approached me again; he rubbed his hands down my arms.

"I've been stuck here for five months, I thought you had all abandoned me. It was three days ago when Teer sensed your presence here, I went to find you and found you being attacked by the beast. I tried to stop it but it disappeared and I saw how injured you were. I brought you back here and Hedda healed you, though you didn't wake up until now." I frowned at him, I couldn't remember anything, it was all just a big blank.

"What happened before that? How did you get here?" I asked him.

"We came to this planet, all of us. Rodney found an energy spike at the portal and we went to investigate. You interpreted some of the text and it said that this place is a sanctuary from the Wraith. I decided to enter it and that was the last thing I heard from you. My radio didn't work but every couple months I had supplies sent through. I just assumed that you all couldn't figure out how to get me out. Do you remember any of this?" He asked hesitantly. I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair.

"No, I don't." I paced away form him. "This is crazy, how can I just not remember five months of my life? Why did I take so long to get here?"

"I don't know." John said. I had finally calmed down enough for him to get close to me, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders as I rested my head on his chest.

"How could I leave you for five months, John?" I asked him, whispering. John sighed as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"You didn't. You all probably thought I was dead, or that it wasn't safe to come get me seeing as I hadn't come back out. But I knew that you wouldn't give up on me, just like I hadn't for you."

"I must've been going mad for all that time," I said with a smile. John chuckled

"Probably a right pain in the ass as usual."

"Cute," I said with a smirk. I tilted my head my head back to stare into his hazel eyes. It didn't feel like I had been away for five months, it felt like yesterday; well to me it was. For John it had been five months. I could see in his eyes that he had missed me, and the way that he was holding me; it was how he had held me after finding me at Ford's compound. John bent his head as he pressed his lips against mine gently; my eyes slowly slid shut as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his. I lost myself in the kiss as I felt his hands roam over my back, his fingers tracing circles over the thin fabric of my shirt. A thought flittered through my mind as I pulled away from John and held him at arms length.

"The woman out there, Teer—"

"Mia, really?" John asked with a chuckle as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I've got to ask, did you and her ever…you know?" I waggled my brows as John sent me a pointed look.

"What kind of man do you take me for?" He asked me. He wasn't hurt by my question, but I could tell that he thought I was being an idiot.

"Well you have been stuck here for five months, and I know what Ancient women are like around you, they have a tendency to throw themselves at you."

"That's not true."

"Chaya," I said with a stern look. John laughed.

"Chaya didn't throw herself at me, and anyway, why are we talking about them when I could be focusing more on you?" He said with a seductive grin as he quickly swooped me up into his arms. I pressed my lips into a firm line as I tried not to smile at him. John walked over to the bed I had been residing in before and set me down gently.

"So for five months you had no sexual urges to her out there whatsoever?" I asked him, I didn't know why I was pressing this so much, I guess it was just my insecurities rearing its ugly head. John sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It's called a right hand, sweetheart." He said simply. I chuckled.

"I don't know whether to be creeped out or complemented."

"Mia?" John said in exasperation. I met his hazel gaze.

"Yeah?"

"Stop talking," he said as he caught my lips in a searing kiss.

* * *

The feeling of someone running their fingers up and down my arm woke me the next morning. My eyes opened slowly, blinking away the sleep as I used a clenched fist and rubbed at my eye. I rolled over onto my back, seeing John half leaning over me with a sleepy smile on his face. He was propped up on his elbow as his other hand continued to trace doodles on my exposed skin.

"Mornin'," he said.

I stretched my body out under him, feeling the tightness in my stomach, the back of my head still ached; but it was slowly getting better. "Morning," I yawned, covering my mouth.

"There's someone I want you to meet today," John said to me as I smirked at him.

"I knew it, you did find an Ancient woman!" I said mockingly as John rolled his eyes at me at my stupidity.

"It's not like that," he said as he flicked my forehead gently with his index finger. "You'll like her."

"Will I now?" I muttered with an eyebrow raised as John chuckled. In the spot he had just flicked me, he pressed his lips against it, kissing me tenderly as he slipped out of the bed and covered up his torso in his white cotton shirt and pulled on his brown trousers. Feeling especially mischievous this morning I sat up and wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my naked body against his clothed back.

"Mia..." He sighed breathlessly as I grinned, knowing that I was teasing him. I leaned down and pressed a wet kiss to the base of his neck, his weak spot as I felt his body shudder under my touch.

"You know, and I know, that you _really_ don't want to get dressed right now," I whispered seductively into his ear. It only took those words before he was peeling off his shirt and trousers once more and pinning me down on the bed.

* * *

After we had finally made it outside, our previous activities hadn't taken long but were nonetheless satisfying, John took me over to another hut. While he spoke to the man I recognised as Avrid from the previous day that I had held at knife point (I had apologized profusely for that) I turned my attention to the little village that we were residing in. There were only about half a dozen houses in the cloister, all were medium sized, bigger then the one John and I had stayed in last night and I could see people entering and leaving them. The people in this village all had an aura of peace and serenity around them, I felt at peace here, even though I had been attacked, knocked unconscious and lost five months of my memory.

"Mia," John speaking to me made me jump in surprise, I had been so focused on the village, and taking in my surrounding that I had totally forgotten that he had wanted me to meet someone. My eyes cut over to him, he was smirking down at a young girl who I recognized. It was the small girl that had been walking with him yesterday when I had woken up. "This is Hedda," he said to me as I watched the girl bound down the stairs and hurry over to me.

"Hi!" She said cheerfully as I returned her smile.

"Hi," I replied.

"Hedda is the one who healed you," John stated as I glanced up at him, meeting his gaze. He had brought me here to meet this wonderful little girl, she had saved my life. Last night he had told me that some of the Ancients who resided here had unusual abilities, he said that the older woman, Teer had the ability of foresight and was the reason why he had been able to find me so quickly. Teer had seen me come under attack from the beast.

Looking back down at Hedda, a grateful smile came over my face as I knelt down on the ground, coming eye level with her. "I owe you my life, Hedda. Thank you for healing me," I said to her as Hedda grinned once more.

"You're welcome! John's told me a lot about you."

"He has?" I asked, looking over at him as he glanced away, becoming interested in a splinter of wood sticking out of the wooden post.

"Well you know," I said to her, lowering my voice, "Between me and you. All he could talk about was you last night."

"Really?" Hedda asked with a faint blush coming over her cheeks.

"Mmhmm, he was saying he thinks you're wonderful. We both owe you and Teer everything," I said sincerely to her.

"My sister and I have the most pronounced gifts at the moment, we thank our ancestors for them. Do you have a sister?" Hedda asked as I was caught off guard by the question. My knee jerk reaction was to always say, 'no, I'm an only child.' But that wasn't the case anymore, I had Emily.

"I have a little sister," I said.

"What's her name?"

I smirked at her eager questions, "Emily."

"Maybe I'll be able to meet her one day," Hedda said with a hopeful smile. I felt a painful feeling in my chest thinking about my family back home, and not just Emily. My Grandfather, Teyla, Rodney, Ronon, Elizabeth, Lorne and Carson.

"Maybe," I said with a wistful smile. Hedda grinned over her shoulder at John and Avrid. "Speaking of sisters, where is Teer, I'd also like to give her my thanks."

"She's meditating," Hedda stated as my brows furrowed.

"Meditating?"

There was a chuckle from John as he strolled down the stairs, "You're going to love this." He said with a grin as I looked between Hedda, Avrid and John.

"What's going on?"

* * *

A couple weeks later John took me for our daily walk, we were just out of he cloister, he didn't want us going too far in case the beast came back. He had given me a fair description of what the creature was like. He had fought it twice already and there seemed to be no way to kill it. John held onto my hand as he bent down and picked a wildflower from the ground, it was a pretty yellow flower as he reached over and tucked it into my hair, behind my ear as I felt my cheeks flush.

"Thank you," I said to him as I gazed up at the sky. It was a beautiful cornflower blue today with a few puffy white clouds dotted in the sky. "It's so lovely here." I said to him as I heard him hum in agreement.

"It's not like home though." He muttered as I glanced over at him. His brow was furrowed as he stared at the ground, deep in thought.

"Oh yeah, nothing beats the constant running from the Wraith, the hiding our relationship and having to deal with rabid friends and a Satedan that only has two words in his vocabulary." I said sarcastically as I saw the smirk grow on John's face.

"Ok, maybe it's not all that bad. It's a hell of a lot better now that you're here," John said casually as he slung his arm around my shoulder as we walked down the dirt path.

"I could stay here forever," I muttered, watching a bird fly through the sky. "It's peaceful. We don't have to hide here, everyone is so friendly and there's no fear of having our life sucked out by the Wraith." I said to him. John nodded as he kissed me on my temple.

We came back to the village and saw that the evening feast had been laid out on the table. The other Ancients were seated around the table as John and I saw the two empty seats on either side of Hedda. I had formed a close bond with the child; she was so happy, funny and bright every day that I always had a smile on my face when I was around her. She adored John and followed him around every chance she got, John didn't mind seeing as Hedda had healed us both when we had been attacked by the beast. If she hadn't, I'd be dead right now. Teer and her brother Avrid were sat opposite us as we all began eating together and sharing stories.

Half way through eating I struck up a conversation. "Is it always sunny like this here?" I asked them. Teer nodded to me.

"Yes, the sanctuary blesses us with warm weather and constant sunshine."

"You ever get any thunderstorms?" John asked as he continued eating. Teer and Avrid looked to each other in confusion as the other villagers murmured. "Haven't any of you seen thunderstorms?" John asked.

"The sanctuary provides rain for the orchids," Avrid replied to him. John shook his head with a smile.

"I'm talking about thunder and lightning. Giant bolts of electricity shooting down from the sky," John explained to them but the villagers still looked dazed, they obviously didn't have storms here to disrupt their peaceful lives.

"Sounds scary." Hedda remarked next to me.

"Well, it is scary," John told her, "but it's also very cool. It's ok to be scared, it's part of life. You know, when I was a kid we used to have storms that shook the house. Scared me half to death." John said to Hedda as she smiled up at him.

"When we are ascended, we will experience such things," Teer stated.

"Hell, if you're ascended, you can make thunderstorms. I'm talking about actually experiencing life!"

John had been trying to entire time I had been here to try and convince these people that there is more to life then just meditation and ascension. He wanted them to explore their sanctuary and not hide away from the beast, but like always, he was turned down.

"We contemplate on the experience that is life each day," Avrid said. I rolled my eyes at his words. Don't get me wrong these people are probably the nicest people I will ever meet in my life but there is only so much Zen that I can take before I go absolutely nuts.

"I'm talking about living it," John continued, "Haven't any of you got things you want to do as flesh and blood human beings first? I mean, you talk about moving on to a plane of existence beyond your own mortality, but you haven't even really lived."

"Our lives are full." Teer uttered.

John sighed, "Well, I've spent a long time with you folks, and I don't think 'full' means what you think it means."

"To ascend, one must meditate." Avrid spoke candidly.

"You're not meditating, you're hiding." John snapped at him. I wanted to warm him to back down but I could tell that John felt passionately about this.

"From what?" Avrid asked, confused.

"You know the answer to that," John grumbled as Avrid still looked perplexed.

"He means the beast," Teer answered for him. I could see the revelation in her eyes as she looked down sadly.

"Yes, I do. Now I don't know how any of you expect me to feel like I belong here, but every time that thing comes around, I'm out there alone." I watched all of the villagers ponder over John's words. I felt bad for them; they were just trying to follow in their ancestors' footsteps.

"You're not alone," Teer said quietly, but John and I heard her. John gave her a reassuring smile.

"I know, you were there too."

"No I mean your friends have come," Teer said as I felt my jaw drop. John glanced over at me as we shared a look as he turned back to Teer.

"They have? Are you sure?" John jumps to his feet. "That's the best news I've—"

"No, John," Teer cut him off as I saw her gaze turn dark. "I sense something more. The beast is nearly upon them."

With that I jumped out of my seat as John and I exchanged looks as we both ran out of the cloister together.

"What about my weapons?" I called out to him as we ran through the forest.

"It wont do any good remember?" John said back as he jumped over a fallen log as I did the same a second later.

"No, I don't!" I yelled back. I heard him make a surprised noise as he had obviously forgotten about my memory loss. From this distance I could hear the beasts roar as I suddenly jogged my memory. I didn't have a flashback or was able to see what I remembered, but I remember the feeling of being scared and the pain of being thrown around. I didn't let it control me as John and I ducked under low branches. The beasts roaring increased, as we got closer, I took it as a good sign that we were close as John sped up. I was out of shape so he was a few feet ahead of me and could run longer than me know, something I would have to change when we got back home.

He charged out of the trees and a few seconds later I followed, I felt elated when I saw my friends and then fear when John threw himself onto the beasts back. The beast disappeared as John went crashing to the ground. I saw Elizabeth run over to him as Carson went to Ronon and Rodney went to Teyla who had been knocked away by the beast.

"What the hell took you guys so long?" John growled at them as Elizabeth helped him stand. I came jogging over, out of breath, surprisingly; the others didn't seem that concerned about me. I would've thought I'd be getting either a reprimand or a glance for being away for three weeks.

"Believe it or not, you've only been gone over five hours," Elizabeth said hesitantly as I froze. Uh, what?

"Try six months!" John exclaimed as Rodney walked over to us.

"You don't understand, you've been trapped in a time dilation field." Rodney explained. I felt my eyes bug out, a time dilation field…was he serious? "Surely you would've told him that?" Rodney pointed his question at me as I looked at him incredulously.

"What are you talking about?" I asked Rodney, he stared at me like I had sprouted another head.

"What do you mean 'what'? That's why you jumped through didn't you like half an hour ago."

"I've been here for three weeks." I stated. Now it was everyone else except John's turn to stare at me like I was crazy, had I said something strange?

"What was that bloody thing?" Carson cried out in panic.

"I don't know," John replied to him but then turned to Rodney, "what's a time dilation field?"

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Elizabeth asks us, I can hear the fear in her voice.

"No, it is still close." Teyla senses as she gazes around the area. Suddenly the beast roars as I scan the area trying to spot the shimmer as it forms in front of us. I crane my neck back as the beast has somehow grown another sixty feet. It roars once more loudly as John and Ronon move towards it slowly. I stand back with Carson and Elizabeth.

Ronon and John said something to each other but I was too far away to hear it. I heard a branch snap behind me as I jumped, expecting to see another one of those beasts but I was shocked to see the villagers walking out of the forest. Hedda reached me as she grasped my hand tightly and smiled up at me.

"John?" Elizabeth called out to him as John turned, his eyebrows rising when he saw the villagers. "Friends of yours?"

I smiled down at Hedda as she left me and joined up with Avrid and Teer as they faced the beast.

"We've come to stand with you," Avrid said determinedly.

"No, we've come to fight," Teer stated firmly. "And we are not afraid of you," Teer said as she glared up at the beast. "The beast is of our own creation, and it is long past time we sent it away."

Teer, Avrid and Hedda join the circle as all the villagers stare up at it. The beast writhes and screeches until it finally disappears from sight, it's screeching fading away. Once the beast was gone Teer turned around to face us.

"That's it? That's all it took?" John cried out.

"You were right, John. We were afraid. The beast was the final burden we had to shed, manifest from our own fears. You gave us the courage to face it," Teer held out her hands as I frowned slightly. "Come with us," she offered him. I heard Elizabeth gasp softly from beside me as we watched the villagers start to glow and turn to white energy.

"I'm not ready for that yet. I'm not sure I'll ever be," John said to her as I felt my fear subside.

"One day, perhaps?" She asked him.

"Yeah, one day," John agreed but not convincingly. Teer smiled at him.

"I'll look forward to it," she turns her gaze onto Rodney. "There'll be no need to destroy the sanctuary, Doctor McKay."

Rodney looked like he had been caught red handed. "What? No no no no no, I wasn't thinking that, I was…" he trailed off, knowing that he had been caught out as I smirked.

"We will keep the portal open for you until you are gone," Teer explained to us.

"At which point the ZedPM which undoubtedly powers this beautiful place will be—"

"The sanctuary was left by those who came before us, for those who may seek it out and follow the path. And it will continue to remain after you are gone." Teer cut him off firmly.

"Yeah but…" Rodney argued as he glanced over at Elizabeth whom he hoped would help him out of the mess but she shrugs and looks at Teer. "Absolutely," he sighs in defeat.

I crane my head back as I watch all of the villagers start to ascend skywards as Teer vanishes also. I smile gently as I remember the times I shared with them as Rodney walks over to John. "What is it with you and ascended women?" He asked him as John shoots him a pointed look. The rest of us gather around John as Elizabeth smirks at John.

"Well, the beard is interesting." She comments as John rolls his eyes at her.

"First thing to go when we get home," John says as he pockets his tactical knife. "Never thought I'd see any of you again. Kind of even…missed you a little." John said as Teyla came and stood next to me, I sent her a smile as she returned it.

"Yeah, well it was only a couple of hours for us so—"

"Ronon!" Teyla scolds him as Ronon laughs silently. "We were all quite worried about you."

"Of course we were," Carson agreed.

"We're just sorry we didn't get here sooner." Elizabeth said as John looks round at each of us. I can tell that he is touched by their sentiments but he shrugs it off and chuckles.

"Let's get out of here." He says and leads us towards the portal.

Rodney came over to me. "And what the hell is wrong with you? Not telling him about the field, what, did you loose your memory or something?" Rodney snapped at me as I crossed my arms and nodded.

"Actually, yes, yes I did." It was comical to watch Rodney's face change from spiteful to concerned in a second.

"Wait what?" He asked. I laughed at him as I continued after the others while Rodney stood frozen to the ground for a few seconds before hurrying after us.

* * *

 **Whew! As much as I love that episode, it was a bloody bitch to write about! I know the whole loosing her memory thing was completely out of the blue but I felt like it fit, and you guys know I'm a sucker for plot devices and twists xD what can I say, it's been like 52 chapters already, you should know me by now that i love throwing curveballs at you guys!**

 **Anyway i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you to everyone for reviewing and reading and I'll see yoou all next week!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Julka212** \- MALP on a stick is probably one of my favourite scenes ever, just everything about that scene has me cracking up each time xD If Rodney did take her then we wouldn't have had this chapter filled with just about everything that I could ever throw at you guys! Besides, it was a given that our stupid Mia would throw herself into the face of danger for the one she loves. Man John with a beard...maybe i'll have to write that in more often now xD

 **Adela** \- Thank you! And yes I'm glad you understood why she ran through to be with him!

 **GoldenGod48** \- Hahaha I knew people would've sussed that she would run through to be with him. Well hopefully she's not seeing as she just got beaten to a pulp by that beast...

 **jumbielove** \- Sorry for leaving on a cliffhanger (not really I love them) but hopefully it was worth the wait. Thank you so much!

 **Guest 64** \- Yeah I'm glad i did it this way too. It was straying so much from the season that I had to somehow come back on track without loosing information on what her time was like back home with her family. Thank you!

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Thank you! Yeah I wonder that too when i rewatch it. Like how hard is it to send a piece of paper saying 'dude, you're fucked but we're coming' xD I'm not sorry about Teer but she did miss out on a gorgeous man! xD


	53. Emergence - Chapter 53

**Hi guys! Welcome back! Not much to say but enjoy this chapter, it's pretty steamy in places so enjoy those parts especially ;) It's so funny, I can write mature scenes fine and read anyone else's, but for some reason I cringe so hard when I read the one's I've written, no idea why...**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"Do you think I'll ever get my memory back?" I asked Carson as I sat on the examining bed. I was wearing the white robes as I had just undergone scans to see if all the damage that had happened to me had in fact, been healed. Carson returned with his tablet as he scanned over the results and then met my questioning gaze.

"It's hard to tell, love. You may recover those lost hours sometime in the future or they may never return."

"It's just weird, you know." I said as Carson set down the tablet by the side of me. "For three weeks I thought that I had lost five months of my life, only to be told that only half an hour went by."

Carson chuckled at me, "Aye, it'd make anyone's head hurt. Try not to worry too much about it, the memory may return in time. For now, I cannae see anything wrong with you physically." The door opened to the left as John walked in. I smiled at his presence as Carson greeted him cheerfully. "Ah, Colonel, what brings you down here?"

"Come to check on the patient," he said with his smile directed at me. I felt my cheeks flush as Carson patted my leg.

"Well that's thoughtful of you."

"Yeah, well, I am the reason she was thrown around by that damned beast. Come to make sure she hasn't suffered any brain damage." He said casually as he leaned against the bed. I pursed my lips at him as Carson laughed.

"No, Miss Mia is in perfect health. I see no reason to take you off active duty. Just try not to force the memories, if they come back they'll come on their own turf." Carson explained to me as I nodded.

"Thanks."

Carson handed me my folded up clothes as he said farewell to the both of us as he wondered off deeper into the infirmary. Not before telling me to come back if I experienced any dizziness or nausea, the normal drill. I held the clothes to my chest as I walked over to the curtains and quickly changed back into my uniform. When I came back out John was lounging on my bed with his arms crossed behind his head.

"And what is the real reason you came down here?" I asked him as I crossed my arms over my chest. John mocked being hurt.

"What? You don't believe that I actually came down to see you with an ulterior motive, do you?"

"I know you," I said with narrowed eyes. John smirked as he jumped off the bed.

"Contrary to popular belief, I was only concerned about your wellbeing." He nudged me gently with his shoulder as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Whatever, Romeo. Let's just go and get some dinner," I said to him as John chuckled and followed after me.

* * *

We were both laughing and joking around as we headed to the mess hall.

"I'm serious! You should've seen my granddad's face the first time I brought my boyfriend round to meet him."

"I can imagine." John said as he glanced down at me with a pointed look. I smirked at the memory of John meeting my granddad for the first time.

"It was like he wanted to shoot him in the foot. Funnily enough he broke up with me a few days later, I still suspect that my granddad threatened him or something." I tapped my chin thoughtfully as John laughed.

"That wouldn't surprise me." John admitted. We rounded the corner to the mess hall when Colonel Caldwell appeared before us. We halted in our tracks as the Colonel looked between the two of us.

"Colonel," Caldwell greeted with a nod.

"Colonel." John replied back.

"Major." Caldwell said to me.

"Colonel." I nodded to him. There was an awkward pause between the three of us as I suddenly got very interested in the stain on my shoe.

"As you were," Caldwell said to the both of us as we saluted him, he weaved to the left and walked off down the hall. John and I waited until he was gone before we glanced at each other. Ever since we had both been promoted the Colonel had never really been the same around us. It was too be expected, he wanted the position of Military commander and when John had been infected with the Iratus bug he had his nasty claws on the job, that was until John got better and he was once again booted off the team. I don't think he'd really let it go.

"When is he leaving again?" I asked John as we entered the mess hall and collected dinner.

"Another day or so." John said to me. I sighed and sat down opposite him.

"Yeah, well, the sooner the better I say. He always makes me feel on edge when I know he's around."

"You think he's going to stab you in the back?" John said with a chuckle as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"No, but I still think he's trying to figure out a way to get rid of you so that he can become the new Military commander." I explained to him as John leaned back in his seat.

"Well, as long as I'm around he's not getting the job."

"I'll hold you to that."

* * *

I woke up in a cold sweat, I clutched my chest with one hand tightly as my heart thumped against my chest, blood pulsed through my veins and the only thing I could heart was the erratic beating of my heart. My body shot up in my bed as I gasped for breath, scanning the dark room as I felt next to me for the warm body I knew should be there. When my hand came up empty a strangled cry tore itself from my throat as I yelled.

"John?"

There was no movement in my room, I couldn't see anything, it was so dark. Where was he? Had he left me? Had he been taken?

"John!" I cried out desperately, wishing for him to appear as the door to the bathroom opened and light spilled into the room.

"Mia—what…"

I heard his voice as the room lit up dimly, John was standing just in the doorway as I felt my body relax slightly, he saw my face and was next to me in a second. My hands sought out his body as I gripped onto his shoulders and pulled him to me, I wrapped my body up around him as I climbed onto his lap and hugged him to me. Now that I had him back I could feel my body shaking against his, one of his hands was stroking the back of my head and the other was holding my back, I could feel his warmth through the thin material of my nightgown.

"You're here aren't you? I'm not dreaming?" I whispered to him as I pressed my face into the warm crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. He smelt of vanilla and sandalwood and the hint of mint from the toothpaste. John tightened his grip around me as I continued to shake in his arms, I could feel the tears threatening to spill under my shuteyes as I took a shaky breathe.

"I'm here, Mia," he whispered back to me as he pressed a warm kiss to the side of my face.

"I had a nightmare," I muttered. His hands smoothed down my back gently as he pulled away so that he could caress my face and run his fingers through my hair.

"Tell me about it."

"It was a dream, it doesn't matter," I replied to him with a shake of my head. John held my head firmly between his hands as I met his concerned hazel gaze.

"Mia, tell me," he ordered, sounding like my Commanding Officer. I took another shaky breath and nodded.

"I can't remember much, I was just feeling trapped and I was trying to find you, I couldn't and I was running, I was being chased—I was so scared," I broke off to lay my head on his chest. "I woke up and you weren't here, I got so scared, I thought my dream was real."

I heard John sigh as he enveloped me up into his embrace once more. I clamped my eyes shut but I kept on having horrible memories of my dream, the feeling of loneliness and dread. I had felt it all too much in my life, especially when I had been locked up in Ford's compound. I knew that there was only one thing that could help me right now.

I trailed my hand over Johns naked collarbone and let it rest over the spot where is heart is, I could feel the steady beating under my palm. Turning my head to face into his neck I pressed a kiss to his jaw, nipping gently at the skin and running my tongue over it. I felt John's fingers dig into my back gently as I moved my mouth up over his cheek as my hands ran through his hair.

I could feel him stirring underneath me, the only thing separating us was the thin material of his boxers as I began to rock myself against him, relishing in the feeling.

"Mia," John whispered as he gently pushed back on my shoulders. My lips left his warm skin as I met his gaze, the hurt evident on my face. "I can't—not with you like this," he said to me, his warm breath ghosted over my face. I was touched that he was thinking about my state of mind but I needed this; I needed to feel in control over my life again, I needed to feel something other than fear and sadness. I could tell that he was worried about me, he didn't want to take advantage of me; but as much as I wanted to agree with him, I couldn't.

"Please," I begged him; I took his hands in my own as I placed them over my breasts. The feel of his large hands touching my breasts sent a spark shooting through me right down to my core. His dick twitched beneath me as I moaned quietly, tossing my head back and bit my bottom lip. "John, please; please."

I had never begged for sex. I had never begged for anything from John before, mostly because he was just as sex-driven as I was, it was the way we showed our emotions, it was the purest of acts that let two people communicate with unspoken words. It was the time when two people came together to show their upmost love for one another—well sometimes…

I could tell it was torturous for John to be so withheld, his fingers were twitching against my bosom and it was turn on for him to hear me beg so much. I knew I was fucked up, I had been captured by my best friend and held hostage for six weeks, we had almost died on a Wraith hive ship and then stuck within a time dilation field. I had returned to Earth to tell Ford's family that he had died when in reality he was still alive and kicking, I had to tell my half-sisters mother that I knew about her, I was still suffering from nightmares that had plagued me for a few weeks now. I was vulnerable, but I didn't care; I needed John to love me right now.

"Please," I hissed, grinding down onto him. I could feel him right there as I gasped in pleasure, I felt his hips move slightly as I grinned, knowing that I was about to get my way after all. His thumbs ran over my hardened nipples as I bit down on my lip and moaned.

"I want you to do something for me though," John told me.

"Anything," I said, breathless. If John asked me to wear a chicken suit and dive off one of the spires I would do it, anything for him to say yes.

"I want you to talk to Heightmeyer."

I didn't really take into account what that meant, all I heard was a simple request, I nodded and pressed my lips against his, kissing him hard on the mouth.

"Ok," I replied to him as I pulled away momentarily.

John finally nodded and I took it as my cue to continue on, I kissed him again on the mouth as his tongue darted through my parted lips; his hands began their assault on my chest as I moaned into his mouth. I could tell that his dick was now fully erect in his boxers but was constricted in his pants, I didn't want to waste anymore time; I climbed off him as I gripped the hem of his boxers and tugged them down, John helped and I could see the desire in his eyes from this controlling side of me. He kicked them off his legs as he scooted back onto the bed as I climbed on top of him, straddling him once more as my hand went to his shaft as I guided it to my wet entrance. I sunk down on him, sheathing his full length inside of me as I moaned loudly, I heard John suck in a deep breath as his hands gripped my hips tightly. I braced my hands on his toned stomach, digging my nails into his skin from the intense feeling I had from him being inside me as I slowly started to push myself up and back down on him. With each stroke the knot was building as moan after moan came out of my mouth, John met each of my thrusts with a buck of his hips. I gasped when he thrust roughly into me, causing me to see stars as my orgasm hit me like a train, I cried out in ecstasy, tossing my head back as my whole body shook. All I could feel was this intense pleasure, all thoughts of my nightmare and my worries went out the window; this is what I had wanted, to just feel this pleasure. My orgasm slowly died down as I noticed that John had stilled within me, he was still hard and twitching but he was gazing at me with his hazel eyes.

"Did you…?" I asked him.

John sat up and hooked his arm around my waist as he turned us over so that I was now underneath him. His bare chest pressed against my still clothed one as he kissed the hollow of my neck. I moaned into his ear, feeling his dick twitch inside me as I began to move my hips again. John hissed as he kissed over my neck and up to my mouth as he bit down on my bottom lip, he took it between his teeth and sucked on it as my hands ran down his bareback. He released my lip.

"Let me make love to you now," he whispered into my ear. I nodded my head, wanting this more than anything. John had let me have my control, I had fucked him, now he wanted to show me the love that I needed.

I let out a whimper as I felt him remove himself from me as he kissed down my neck, his hands did their magic on my breasts, he groped them over my nightgown as my back arched off the bed and into his chest. He shuffled down me, pushing my nightgown up as he did, he reached my neck as I sat up and let him take it off me as it dropped to the ground next to us. He lowered himself back down as his hands brushed over my thighs as I moaned his name. My hands sought out his head as I trailed my fingers through his hair, gripping his hair tightly in my hands I could feel his hot breath at my core as he ran his fingers dangerously close to it. I bucked my hips, needed to feel that connection as I bit down on my lip hard, drawing blood.

"Oh, God!" I cried when I felt his tongue lap at my entrance. My fingers pulled at his hair roughly and my thighs clamped around his head, the feeling becoming too much for me as my breathing became panted. My hips moved in time with his appendage as I could feel the knot building up once more. John pushed against my thighs, pinning them to the bed and his fingers digging roughly into my skin.

When I couldn't take it anymore I felt the dam break as another orgasm hit me, I cried out again, louder this time as I could hear John chuckling from in between my legs.

I panted, trying to gather my thoughts as John moved up my body. He hooked his arms under mine as I wrapped them around his neck, pulling our two bodies together as he lined us up and with a thrust he entered me again. He muffled my cry with his lips as he kissed me on the mouth, his tongue darting into my mouth, as I could taste myself on him. I hooked my legs around him and settled them on his thighs as I helped him thrust into me. John was grunting into my mouth, turning me on and building up that knot once more. I didn't know how much more of this I could take, I could feel my energy wavering, I felt like I was about to pass out from everything I was feeling.

John was pouring all of his emotion into his kisses and his movements, even though he was being desperate now I could feel the love and security I always felt from him. Even though I had used him at the beginning to only satisfy myself and to block out the pain I was feeling he was still his normal selfless self.

I felt the tears appear under my eyelids as a few leaked out and rolled down the side of my face. John stopped suddenly as I opened my eyes, blinking away the tears as I met his gaze; he was worried.

"Mia? Are you ok, did I hurt you?" He asked quickly as I shook my head.

"No, no; keep going, I'm fine," I said as I lifted my head up and pressed my mouth to his. It took him a few seconds but he resumed his movements, he kissed my tears away as I smiled and felt him hit that perfect spot.

"Oh fuck…" I said breathlessly as my nails dug into John's shoulders. I couldn't tell how long we lasted, all I could think about was the feeling of John moving out and slamming back into me, he grunted and whispered sweet nothings into my ear as I threw my head back and cried out in glorious bliss at the same time John released into me. John braced himself up on his hands as he bucked into me a few times, grunting as he did so.

I was completely spent, I brushed the hair away from my face that had stuck from my perspiration as John collapsed next to me, he was breathing harshly and I could see the small droplets of sweat accumulating on his skin from the moonlight that filtered in.

John's arm came to a rest atop my stomach as his fingers danced gently across my skin, he shuffled close to my body as his hand travelled up to my chin as he turned my face so that we were staring at each other. His eyes looked black in the dark as he leaned into me and kissed me softly on the mouth. I felt all the tension and fear leave me at the simple kiss as I sighed into him. His hand cupped my cheek and he ran his fingers through my hair as he pulled back, his warm breath ghosted over my face.

"I love you," he whispered to me. My eyes stung with tears as I held them back with sheer will.

"Thank you," I replied to him. I didn't have to say the words back, he was telling me that he loved me and that he was here for me, as amazing as that was in itself. Even after everything that we had gone through, we always came back to one another. John pulled me to him and rested his chin on top of my head as I felt his body relax against mine. His breathing evened out as he fell asleep quickly, it took me a while but eventually I finally fell asleep, dreaming about absolutely nothing.

* * *

John woke me up in the morning; or rather my body instinctively knew that he had gotten out of bed. I slowly opened my eyes, rubbing them as I rolled over and watched as John slipped on his uniform. I sat up in my bed; John heard me as he looked over his shoulder as he zipped up his pants and buckled up his belt, his torso was bare and I could see the purple bruise at the base of his neck that I had made from last night.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he strolled over to the bed and sat down on the edge, I tore my eyes away from the bruise on his neck, I was slightly proud of it, he had always left love bites on me, now it was my turn to return the favor.

"Better," I said quickly, forcing a smile for him. I felt my stomach drop as I thought about last night, I felt guilty, I had forced John into having sex with me. "I'm sorry for last night," I muttered.

I didn't expect John's reaction. He frowned and looked angry. With a sharp tug on my arm I fell into his lap as I gasped and braced myself against his arms.

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"But I practically forced you into sex," I argued, feeling my brows furrow.

"I didn't do anything I didn't want to last night," John replied, he ran his fingers down my bare spine, I was suddenly aware that I was naked in his arms; my back arched into him at the feelings of his fingers on me. He bent his head down as he pressed a kiss to the valley between my breasts as he trailed up, leaving a wet trail from his tongue as my eyes rolled into the back of my head from the feeling. "Although, hearing you beg for me is a major turn on. I want to hear it from you more often," he muttered against my skin, his tone was low and sexy and I felt the spark shoot right down into my belly.

"I thought me calling you Colonel was a turn on?" I asked breathlessly with a smirk as John chuckled against my skin.

"It is."

John kissed me on the mouth as I sighed into him, my head feeling light and dizzy from his touches and kisses. He rolled me off him and stood up from the bed suddenly, leaving me whining and wanting more. I threw myself back onto the bed, pouting my lip like a child having a tantrum as John laughed and fetched his shirt from the desk chair and pulled it over his head.

When he faced me again there was an uncertainty in his eyes. "What is it?" I asked him, grabbing my discarded nightgown from the floor and tugging it over my head.

"Are you going to go and talk to Heightmeyer?" John asked as I suddenly remembered his one condition from last night. I bit down on my lip and looked away from him.

"Mia…" He said my name softly as I met his gaze, he was trying hard to not give me a stern look, I could tell from the tension in his jaw.

"I just don't see the point, I can handle this on my own," I said firmly as John sighed.

"That's the thing, Mia, you _can't_ ," he snapped as I pressed my lips into a firm line. "Why are you so against seeing her? What harm could possibly happen from simply talking to her?" John asked as I crossed my arms and sighed. I faced away from him as I stood up from the bed and walked to the other side of the room. It was a while before I finally replied to him.

"Because going to see her, talking to her…it's admitting defeat. I don't want to be seen as weak, going and talking to her—I might as well just come out and say that I'm weak."

"You aren't going to be seen as weak by going to Heightmeyer, this is why she's here!"

"You don't understand, you've never had to talk to her!" I snapped back with a glare.

"…Yes I have."

John spoke so quietly that I almost missed it, I froze to the ground as I tried to read his face, I couldn't; he was keeping his guard up.

"When?" I demanded off him, why hadn't he told me this? Why would he hide it?

"When we came back from loosing Ford on the planet and brought Ronon back, after the fight that we had I went to talk to Heightmeyer about you."

This was news to me; I felt my mouth part in shock as I stared at him. Why didn't he tell me?

"About me?"

"Just go and talk to her, Mia. If you don't feel better after today then I wont force you to go."

I frowned again and was determined to still not go, I ground my teeth together and shook my head. I could tell John was about to loose his temper with me, I was being my annoyingly stubborn right self right now; John hated it when I was like this. He sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair, his demeanor changed, as he stood up straighter.

"If you wont go for me, then as your Commanding Officer I'm ordering you to go."

"What? You can't do that!" I said, aghast. Although the little voice in the back of my head said that he technically could.

"I can, and if you don't, I'll remove you from active duty—"

"John!"

"Don't argue with me on this, Mia. You're going to talk to her, today, and that's final," he ordered as I stood there bristling at him. His own gaze was firm and I could tell that I wasn't going to be able to change his mind on this one. We were both too stubborn for our own good.

"Fine."

John nodded his head as he laced up his boots and shrugged on his jacket, he zipped it up and walked over to me, I kept my arms crossed and looked up with him with a pointed look.

"I'll see you later," he said to me as he pecked me on the cheek; I relented and smiled at him as he turned and left my room. Once he was gone I groaned and threw myself onto my bed.

* * *

"I'd like to take a moment to talk about Lieutenant Ford," Heightmeyer said to me as I sat in her chair. So far we had talked about my Granddad, my half sister Emily and my kidnapping. We hadn't spoken about Aiden; we had only gone over what I had gone through by being locked up in a small cell for six weeks.

"It's Aiden," I stated to her, "he's dead, so he's not a Lieutenant anymore."

Heightmeyer was silent for a few seconds as I watched her study my face; she smiled gently and folded her hands in her lap.

"Of course, how are you coping with his passing?" She asked. I sighed and shrugged, this was so hard to keep up pretenses that he was dead.

"It's not the first time I've lost someone close to me."

"I read the mission report about what happened, tell me about the change that he underwent, you said that it was like he had reverted back to the old him."

I mentally cursed myself for putting that in the report, I sighed heavily and rubbed my forehead, "He changed back to the Aiden I knew, it was because he had almost gotten all of the enzyme out of his system, it allowed him to think clearly again. He saved my life and then sacrificed his own life so that I could escape, I owe him everything."

"Aren't you mad at him for not trying to get out also?"

I stared at her. I guess you could say that I was upset that Aiden had chosen to go off on his own and build up his life again, but then again, if he had returned; he would've been turned into a lab rat, it was better for him to be out there.

"Sometimes," I replied to her.

"If Aiden was here right now, what would you say to him?" Heightmeyer asked me as I quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I thought talking to imaginary people was considered bad," I joked as Heightmeyer cracked a smile.

"Under different circumstances, it is harmful and can be classed as a mental illness, but in these conditions, I would like you to have closure; and to do that you need to tell him how you really feel."

I sat there quietly, was this really going to help me? Aiden wasn't dead, he was alive so I didn't really need closure, but at the same time there was things that I wished to tell him, things that I didn't get a chance too.

I opened my mouth, well, if I was ever going to do something like this; now would be the perfect place.

"Well—"

" _All senior staff report to the control room immediately."_

I stared at Heightmeyer for a second before I sprung up from my chair and headed to the door.

"Major!" She called out to me but I couldn't dear with her right now, there was an emergency that needed my attention.

I ran all the way to the control room, I turned the corner and ran straight into John who steadied me by grabbing onto my arms.

"What's going on?" I asked him as he shook his head at me.

"I don't know," he replied as we walked through the door and hurried up the stairs. I saw Rodney and Elizabeth looking down at a computer with Ronon casually hanging by them. Rodney and Elizabeth looked up when they saw us approaching them. On their faces I could see dread and anxiety, whatever had happened, it wasn't good.

"What's going on?" John asked as Rodney straightened up.

"There's a bomb on Atlantis."

"What?" I cried out.

"Come again?" John asked, placing his hands on his hips. Rodney turned the laptop screen around as John and I peered down at it.

 _Do not dial Earth; the Trust has planted a bomb on Atlantis._

"Weren't you scheduled to dial the gate just before?" John asked as Rodney and Elizabeth shared a look.

"We were, we got the message just in time," Elizabeth said in relief as Rodney rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, we were one chevron away from being blown to smithereens," Rodney snapped as he closed the laptop and walked towards Elizabeth's office, the rest of us followed behind. "We need to disconnect the ZedPM and switch to back-up naquadah generators to prevent any possible dialing of the gate to Earth," Rodney explained.

"I agree," Elizabeth said, "In fact, as of this moment, all gate activity should be suspended. How many off world teams do we have out there?"

"Just Zelenka and his team on M7G-677."

A shiver ran up my spine at the mention of the planet, ever since being back I had avoided speaking or bringing up that planet in any and all conversation. It was the planet that I had been kidnapped from and I would probably never be comfortable going back there again.

"Well unfortunately, he's going to have to stay put until we sort this thing out," Elizabeth ordered.

"Stuck with all those kids," John sniggered from beside me as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Is the Daedalus still in range to relay a data transmission back to SGC?" Elizabeth asked Rodney.

"Yes, they are holding position that keeps them in range of both Earth and us."

"Ok, good. Send a message back saying we received their warning and aborted the dialing."

"Ask them if they can give us a little more than just 'there's a bomb in Atlantis'," John said to Rodney, as the scientist seemed to agree with him.

"Maybe the Trust thinks this is the only way to make sure the Wraith don't get there."

"By killing us all?" I asked in outrage as Rodney sighed.

"Well, it's drastic but effective," Rodney said.

"What's worse is the Trust operative who planted the bomb probably did so under orders from the Goa'uld," Elizabeth dropped as I shuddered.

"What?" Rodney exclaimed.

"When did the Goa'uld get involved?" John asked, obviously pissed as no one had bothered to relay the information to him.

"Several months ago," Elizabeth told him, "They successfully infiltrated the upper leadership of the Trust, gaining a stronghold on Earth accessing government agencies from many countries."

"Great so not only do we have to deal with life sucking aliens we also have to deal with mind controlling ones too!" I said in exasperation.

"What's a Goa'uld?" Ronon asked from behind me. John turned to face him slightly.

"It's a slimy, snake-like creature—burrows into people's heads and takes control of their bodies."

"That doesn't sound pleasant," Ronon stated.

"It isn't," John said with a grimace, "I've read enough SG mission reports to know I don't want anything to do with them."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement, "I want you to organize some teams to do a search of the city. Start with obvious sabotage points—power distribution centers."

"I'll check primary and secondary systems for any anomalous energy readings that might indicate the presence of an explosive device," Rodney said to them.

"And get Cadman to assist you, she's a bomb expert," John told him as Rodney's face paled.

"She is?"

"She's one of the best—she'll be a big help," John said with a smile. Rodney grimaced.

"Good," Elizabeth said. "Ask Colonel Caldwell to return to Atlantis to assist with the investigation."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa if the Daedalus returns here, then you're effectively cutting off our communication with Earth," Rodney stated as Elizabeth pressed her lips into a firm line and nodded.

"Yes, I understand that, but if the person who planted the bomb is on board, we're going to need to question them here, and have them reveal the location of the bomb and how to dismantle it. Alright, let's get moving."

* * *

"I've always hated Kavanagh," I muttered as I watched the security camera from inside the interrogation room. Elizabeth had begun her interrogations of the crew from the Daedalus and Kavanagh was the very first one on her list.

"Slimy prick," Rodney muttered from beside me, causing me to smirk at his blatantly obvious loathing of the man.

"You really don't like him, do you?" I asked Rodney with a scoff as he nodded.

"Yeah, he always acts so high and mighty; gets under my skin about how egotistical he is."

I chuckled into my hand as I sent Rodney a side-glance, "He kind of reminds me of someone I know."

"Oh—har-har, very funny; for your information I'm nothing like him, for one I don't have that stupid haircut," he pointed at Kavanagh's ponytail as nudged him in the side.

"I don't know, he doesn't have that widows peak that you have going on, and look how silky it looks," I said dreamily as Rodney gagged.

"Well, that's one thing I never thought I'd hear come out of your mouth, Major," a voice said from behind as I grimaced and spun around in the chair. John stood there with an eyebrow quirked and his arms crossed. There was an amused glint in his eye as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I've got a thing for scientists," I stated with a wink to him as Rodney slipped on the desk.

"Really?" He asked with a hopeful look in his eye as I laughed at him.

"What do you think, McKay?" John said with a grunt as he came and stood next to me. Rodney then pouted as he finally let it sunk in.

"Oh I get it, the sarcasm. I'll just be on my way then," he said as he ducked out of the room. Leaving John and I alone together in the small room. I could feel the warmth coming off his body as he stood next to the chair as I picked out dirt from under my nails.

Suddenly the chair spun around as I tilted my head back to look up at John, his hand was gripped onto the back of the chair by my head as his body towered over me, making me feel two feet tall but strangely aroused as he stared down at me.

"Scientists huh?" He asked as I held in my smirk.

"I just find all that knowledge…sexy," I said as I wet my lips and bit down on my bottom lip. I saw John's hazel gaze darken with lust as his eyes darted down to my lips as he then averted his gaze from me. I grinned slyly as I reached out and trailed my fingertips down the side of his legs. He flinched from the sudden contact, surprising him in a delightful way as I saw the bulge in his trousers grow and strain against the material. I could feel his stare on me as I heard the chair creak from the pressure he was exerting onto it from his grip; I was staring at the bulge as I trailed my fingers to the front of his pants as John groaned.

"Don't start something you can't finish," he grit out huskily as I laughed under my breath.

"Who said I was starting anything?" I asked as I removed my hands from him and rose from the chair, pressing my body flat against his as I traced my finger from one shoulder to the center of his chest. I met his hungry gaze as my stomach did flips from the look he was giving me; I knew that if I didn't get out of here, John would be having his wicked way with me very soon. "I'll see you around, Colonel," I said teasingly as I dragged my finger across his chest and walked away from him. The grin I had on my face was large as I could hear him muttering under his breath at me as I left the room.

* * *

 **Phew, that chapter had me blushing in a few areas ahahah. Anyway so we're diving deep into Critical Mass right now, and as always I love the moments between Rodney and Mia, gosh. Honestly they are my favourite things to write, excluding John and Mia scenes cause we all know I love those!**

 **Thank you everyone for the feedback and for all my readers!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Sheepardgirl08** \- Hope you enjoyed the sexy time in this chapter xD When I read your review I knew that all of this was going to be in this chapter and I was like...just you wait ;) Thank you!

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **happy15** \- Well, I don't think I've really planned for anything like that yet, maybe in the later seasons i'll bring it in!

 **Julka212** \- Yep i just threw that motherfucker in there like, here you go guys, have another plot twist xD I don't know what it is, but I love writing interactions with literally everyone and Mia, she's just to funny and works well with everyone, god what have i created! More Rodney flustered scenes in this chapter which i adore also, especially thinking that he had a chance with Mia xD That's ok, I'm always laughing at your reviews and my brothers like trying to look over my shoulder at what I'm laughing at, which causes me to scream like a banshee, i love my brother really! ahahah, thank you!


	54. Emergence - Chapter 54

**Hello friends! Welcome to another chapter, this week has been agonizing for me, I'm so happy it's over and I can finally enjoy the weekend and reading all your wonderful reviews for this chapter! Enjoy guys, this is half canon and half filler as Critical Mass, while a good episode to watch, is a bitch to write about!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence  
**

* * *

I was sat in the conference room a few hours later, Rodney had finally deduced that there wasn't actually a exploding device here on Atlantis, rather, that the person who had infiltrated Atlantis had disabled the failsafe's so that when the ZPM was connected it would overload and blow up the city. It was pretty smart to be honest, and scary, whoever had thought of this was down right genius. Rodney had me working on cracking the code that was blocking us re-enabling the failsafe codes, he was helping, obviously, but he was spending more time glaring at Laura Cadman for the most part. No matter how many times I scolded and glared at him, he firmly believed that she had some part in this catastrophe.

I was sat next to John, when I had walked into the room he and I had met gazes as he shot me a dark look, I held in my laugh, he was still obviously peeved about what had happened earlier between us, let's just say that was payback for him forcing me to go and talk to Heightmeyer. I sat down and sent him a pleasant smile as I turned my attention to the others in the room. Rodney was sitting on the other side of the table, Caldwell and Elizabeth stood in the center as they discussed what I already knew.

"Have we come any closer to getting the failsafe's up and running?" Elizabeth asked Rodney and I.

"We're still working on cracking the new failsafe code but uh—so far, no luck," he said to her as Elizabeth looked away grimly.

"How're things coming with Kavanagh?" Caldwell asked her, I knew for a fact that nothing was progressing with the pain in the ass scientist, seeing as I had overseen the security for the interrogations. "He still your prime suspect?"

"Yes, he is," Elizabeth nodded, "I'm having some difficulty with him though. He's not exactly the most co-operative of people."

"Oh, well there's a shocker!" Rodney muttered sarcastically. I snorted and covered it with a cough.

"If he does know the code, I highly doubt he's just going to give it to us."

Ronon had been sitting outside apparently; he suddenly appeared in the room, twirling a knife between his index and thumb as he came to a stop in the doorway.

"Give me ten minutes with him. I'll get it out of him," he said threateningly as my eyebrows shot up.

"Slow down there, Conan," I said with a pointed finger. I heard John move beside me as he leant on the table.

"Might not be a bad idea. Maybe it is time to take this interrogation to the next level," John admitted as I looked over at him. He met my gaze briefly before looking away.

"Look, I hate Kavanagh as much as the next guy—probably even more," Rodney drawled, "but we really need to be sure about this."

"We don't have time to debate morality. Unfortunately sometimes you have to do unpleasant things to save lives," Caldwell stated as I frowned at his words. Caldwell and Elizabeth are the first to leave the room; I stare at the Colonel's retreating back as I ponder his words, were we really going to resort to violence to get information out of one of our own? Granted if Kavanagh was working for the Goa'uld then by all means interrogate away, but we didn't know that and how could we really be sure?

I felt a hand graze gently across my lower back as I glanced to my left, John and I were the last ones in the room so there was no fear of being caught out, but still, this was a very public place with Caldwell and Elizabeth walking around.

"You frown any harder, you'll get wrinkles," John said teasingly to me as I scrunched up my nose at him. His hand tapped my ass lightly as he tried to give me a reassuring smile. "It'll be ok," he said as he wondered off, leaving me in the room by myself. When I was ready I left the conference room and heading into the control room, I spotted Rodney and Laura in a heated discussion as Laura frowned at the egotistical scientist and sighed in exasperation.

"I was juts trying to help, Rodney," she said.

"Hey, here's a thought," Rodney exclaimed, "failsafe code. Why don't you help with that?" He snapped at her as Laura furrowed her brows at him. She glanced over at me with a pleading look as I sighed, I was about to scold the bigheaded man when he hit his radio and shuffled over to the scanner screen.

"Elizabeth," he said into the radio.

" _Yes, Rodney?"_

"The cruisers are getting closer. I think it's time to reconnect the ZPM and cloak the city," he told her.

" _Go ahead_ ," came her reply. Rodney looked over his shoulder at me.

"I'm going to head down there, once I've got the ZPM—"

"I know what to do, Rodney," I cut him off with a sigh, as he looked pissed off but nodded and hurried out of the room. I walked over to the screen, which showed the two Wraith cruisers. There were indeed creeping closer and closer to the planet.

I heard Laura come stand next to me, "How long until they get here?" She asked me as I read over some data.

"Couples of hours, give or take," I replied to her somberly. She sighed dejectedly and walked back over to her laptop and tried once more to break the code on Atlantis. I took up my position at the control console as I started preparing the city for the switch from Naquadah generators to the ZPM.

It wasn't long before my radio buzzed and I heard Rodney's voice loud and clear in my ear.

" _Mia, you ready?"_ He asked as I switched over to the opposite laptop, which controlled the power distributions for the generators and the ZPM.

"Yep, fire away McKay," I said cheerfully into the radio. I could almost hear the eye roll.

" _Switching the ZPM power…now."_

I made the necessary adjustments as I watched the power flick over; I swung around to the other laptop and made the command for the city to initiate the cloak.

I didn't have to wait long before Rodney came back and we both began powering down systems that the city didn't need, and hopefully wouldn't overload the ZPM and we wouldn't all be blown to smithereens. Rodney had me keeping one eye on the ZPM screen, making sure that the levels would not go near the overload, if that happened I would be running down to the power room and ripping the ZPM out of it's little home.

"How're we doing?" Elizabeth asked us as she appeared from her office; Rodney and I had been bent over a laptop screen going over data from the ZPM.

"Well, I've powered down several of the secondary systems, but so far ZPM levels are holding below overload I think we're going to be ok," Rodney said with positivity as I wanted to tell him that every time he said something like that, we never ended up being ok.

* * *

"They're here!" Rodney sung to Elizabeth as the three of us stared at the scanner screen with apprehension. "Two Wraith cruisers, just outside our atmosphere."

"So far they don't behave in a way that would indicate they're aware of us," Elizabeth said hopefully as I nodded in agreement. From behind us an alarm beeped that set my hair on edge and cause Goosebumps to appear on my flesh.

"Rodney," Laura called out.

"What?" Rodney replied with annoyance.

"The city's inertial dampeners just began powering up," Laura said as Rodney sprung up with alarm all over his face.

"What?"

"I'm trying to shut it down but it's requiring a code!" Laura said as Rodney ran over to the laptop she was at.

"Get out of there," he said as he shoved her roughly, Laura didn't complain as she moved away as Rodney began going over the data. "It's the star drive," he meets Elizabeth and mines gaze, seeing our confusion. "Look, the city, as you know it is just a giant spaceship with star drive capable of faster than light travel, which means it also has inertial dampeners."

"Yes, I know that."

"Like the puddle jumpers," I added in. Rodney looked between the screen and us frantically.

"One of the precursors of the star drive's power up phase is the activation of the dampeners—ah, which may very well affect out cloaking. Look but that's not the worst part of it."

"It'll overload the ZPM," Elizabeth stated.

"Way overload it," Rodney agreed. Elizabeth shut her eyes for a second, collecting her thoughts as she met his gaze.

"How long before that happens?" She asked him. Rodney bent down to look at the screen as he looked back up with dread on his face.

"Thirty minutes at the most and this city will be vaporized."

Elizabeth immediately hit her radio.

"Colonel Caldwell and Sheppard please report to the conference room, immediately!" She almost yelled into her radio. Rodney collected his tablet as I followed Elizabeth into the conference room. It was literally a minute later that John and Ronon came running into the room, the two of them had obviously been together when Elizabeth had given the order.

"What's going on?" John asked the three of us.

"The ZPM will overload in thirty minutes," I stated to him as John looked from me to Rodney, asking him if it was true.

"The person who did this must've realized that with most of the secondary power systems being disabled that they had to use something bigger, the star drive being that."

"And you didn't think to shut down the star drive first?" John asked with annoyance to the scientist.

"The star drive is a primary system," I responded. "There was no way to tell if those systems had been tampered with. If it was programed to start up then who knows what could've happened if we tried to shut them off."

"What matters now is that we need to get everyone off this base before it blows up," Elizabeth brought us all back on track.

"We can use the Daedalus," John said to us just as Caldwell came into the room.

"I take it reconnecting the ZPM didn't go as planned?" Caldwell asked. If it weren't for the situation at hand I would've wanted to give him a piece of my mind but either way I couldn't.

"We need to initiate some evacuation plans," Elizabeth told him.

"I told you," John repeated aggressively, "the Daedalus is our only option. We can't use the Stargate, we can't go to the Mainland."

"I agree," Caldwell said, shocking me as for the first time he actually agreed with John. "We'll fit as many people aboard the ship as we possibly can—"

"There is nowhere near enough room for everyone!" Rodney interrupted.

"We're going to have to make room," John argued as Rodney spun around to face him.

"No no no no no, you don't understand. The life support system can't handle that many people, not enough air to go around," Rodney used his hand to draw quick circles around his head. "They'll never make it back to Earth."

"What about another planet?" John offered, his eyes lit up as he remembered something. "There's one nearby in this solar system, remember? The one we found the crashed Wraith cruiser. That took us fifteen hours by puddle jumper, it's a blink of the eye for the Daedalus."

"And then we could use the puddle jumpers to ferry the rest of the people," Elizabeth added.

"The quickest thing to do is get the code," Ronon then spoke up as he leaned on the table, staring at Elizabeth. "Just let me in with Kavanagh and I'll get it from him." His tone was low and threatening as Elizabeth and him held gazes.

"ZPM overload in…twenty-four minutes…" Rodney said ominously.

Elizabeth turns her head to look at John who holds her gaze, I can tell by his face that he wanted her to let Ronon do this, we were finally at that point now. I could see the trepidation on her face as she nodded curtly.

"Do it."

Ronon casts a glance to John as he leaves the room swiftly. Rodney leaves the room, intent on trying to crack that failsafe code once more as Elizabeth turns to me.

"You've seen the schematics for the Daedalus, how many can we fit aboard the ship?" She asked me as I felt like I was suddenly put on the spot. I could feel both John and Caldwell staring at me as I started going over numbers in my head.

"With the crew of the Daedalus also…around two-hundred. If we put all the Athosian women and children on board first and have all medical staff on the ship they should be all right. Have everyone else go to the jumpers, each jumper can probably handle twenty people roughly, we'll need at least five or six jumpers."

Elizabeth nodded to me as she activated her radio.

"This is Doctor Weir. The city will be evacuated immediately. All Athosian woman and children please report to the East pier to board the Daedalus. Can all medical staff please proceed there too. The rest of the base please head to the jumper bay for evacuation."

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at me and gave me a tight smile before she headed out of the room, following after Caldwell as he said something about heading down to the Daedalus to oversee the evacuation. I heard John approach me as I faced him with a reassuring smile. His face was serious.

"Is there anything I can say to get you on the Daedalus right this second?" He asked as I chuckled. I craned my neck around to the doorway, thankful that no one was around as I reached out and brushed my hand over his shoulder.

"Only if you get on there too, I'm not leaving without you," I said with a determined look as John smirked down at me. He knew that was going to be my answer even before he asked me. I saw John glance over at the doorway for a second before I felt his hand curl around the back of my neck as he pulled me to him, planting a kiss on my lips as I sighed into him. We pulled away after a few seconds, not wanting to get caught at a time like this.

"I love you," I told him with a smile as I saw his mouth curl up into a smile also as he pressed a kiss to my forehead quickly.

"Love you," he whispered to me as I walked out of his embrace and into the control room.

* * *

"Doctor Weir, Rodney I found something," Laura appears behind us as I turn and see her with a distraught look on her face.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asks her.

"I wish I was wrong but I found a deletion point in the failsafe logs."

"You already mentioned this to me," Rodney snapped at her as Laura sent him a dark look, I smacked his arm causing him to yelp as Laura continued on.

"I dug deeper, there are two deletion points in the logs, and an identification code was used to get into the city's operating system."

"Whose identification code was it?" I asked her as she looked pained to say it but she took a deep breath and spoke.

"Colonel Caldwell."

"What?"

"You can't be serious?" Rodney muttered as Laura nodded her head.

"It makes sense," I said to them all. "He's been on how many round trips to Earth now? And he's always hanging around and wanting Colonel Sheppard's position."

"It's the only solid lead we have," Laura added. Elizabeth looked torn on what to do, but she couldn't deny the facts also. It was ridiculous to think that one of our own could be working for the Trust, but we had to get to the bottom of this quickly.

"Rodney," she used her commanding tone on him as the scientist jumped slightly and looked over at her. "Send a message to Hermiod on the Daedalus, have him beam Colonel Caldwell into the interrogation room," Elizabeth turned on her radio. "Colonel Sheppard, order Ronon to stand down immediately. I'll meet you in the interrogation room," she said as she hurried out of the control room.

"Mia," Rodney called me as I spun around and hurried over to him. "I need you to start powering down all the systems in the city except for the door mechanics, hopefully if we reduce as much power as we can we can stall for time." I nodded to him as I took a seat at the laptop and began to do what I was told.

* * *

"Rodney how long?" I asked him wearily as I looked over my shoulder at him. Laura was looking nervous across from him as he looked at his tablet and then over at me.

"Seven minutes," he said just as Elizabeth reappeared at the stairs.

"Colonel Caldwell is a Goa'uld," she stated as I felt my jaw hit the ground.

"Oh, that's disgusting," Rodney, groaned as I grimaced.

"Explains a few things," I muttered.

I heard a loud alarm coming from the tablet that Rodney was holding as he looked down at it, his face paled suddenly as he looked at the three of us.

"ZPM levels are spiking. We need to go now!" He ordered as I jumped up from my chair, the first thing I thought was that I needed to find John and make sure that he got on the puddle jumper with me. Rodney, Laura, Elizabeth and I headed for the stairs and to my relief John and Ronon came bounding up the stairs as John handed a notebook to Rodney.

"Access code." He stated as Rodney gave him a relieved look as he darted to a computer and quickly began entering it in. I looked to my right and saw Laura coming to stand next to me; she was biting her bottom lip in nervousness.

Rodney slumped back into his seat with a sigh of relief as I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Ronon sinks his head down onto a nearby console and Elizabeth grins round at everyone. John wipes his forehead from the sweat that had built up as Laura tosses her arm around my shoulder and grins at me as I return her smile.

* * *

"And you're not in the infirmary because…?" John asked as he sat down across from me at the mess hall table. I was digging into a large tub of chocolate ice cream that I had snuck from the kitchen. It was one of those massive tubs that could literally hold a small dog or something, it had been a mission to carry but well deserved.

"Because Carson said that I didn't have to have a scan seeing as he already did one on me like a week ago after we came back from that planet with your alien girlfriend," I replied with a mouth half full. John rolled his eyes at me.

"Teer wasn't my girlfriend."

"Whatever," I muttered back. I liked to tease him about the Ancient women that he always seemed to unintentionally woo. Regarding the scan, Elizabeth had asked Carson to give everyone a physical since Caldwell had been harboring a Goa'uld in his brain. It was freaky to think that I had been in such close proximity with him on the Daedalus for my trip back here and I hadn't noticed anything, hell, none of us had and we probably wouldn't have if Laura hadn't found the missing data stream.

Hermiod, the creepy little naked alien man had successfully managed to remove the symbiotic from Caldwell's head and he was now resting in the Daedalus infirmary as they were on their way back to Earth.

John eyed me as I shoveled more ice cream into mouth as I offered up an extra spoon to him, "Want some?" I asked with a grin as he held my gaze before smirking and taking the spoon from my hand and digging in with me.

* * *

The next few weeks passed quickly and quietly, we went on a few mission here and there and soon it was almost two months since I had returned to Atlantis from my extended stay with Ford and my family. Routine went back to normal thankfully. John and I were doing great, it was if our little breakup had never happened; if anything it had brought us closer together. I continued to see Heightmeyer much to John's delight, he had been right after all, talking to her did help me get over some repressed anger against Ford leaving me once again. Everything seemed to be going great in Atlantis, but the pessimist side of me was always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I was sitting in the mess hall in the early morning; I was barely awake as I ate my scrambled eggs sluggishly. I had been up most of the night helping Zelenka with repairs to a busted Jumper, we had almost finished it but it was still going to take some time repairing the weapons system, other than that it was good to fly again. I gulped down some juice and noticed Teyla entering the room; she spotted me, smiled and walked over to me.

"Good morning," she said with her dazzling smile, as I grunted in return, not yet able to perform speech. She sat down opposite me. "What are you doing later tonight?" She inquired as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Nothing," I replied sleepily as she beamed.

"Well, every year my people and I hold a ceremony to commemorate a successful harvest year. It just happens that it will be happening tonight and I am inviting our team to join us on the Mainland."

"So it's like a new years party or something?" I asked, my interest was peaked, when was the last time any of us had some down time here to kick back and relax with friends?

"Something like that," she agreed with a nod as I shrugged.

"I'm down for that. It's not going to be like the Genii's harvest celebration, is it?" I asked her skeptically as Teyla laughed. Remembering when we had been celebrating with the Genii we had been detained and forced to work with them. She shook her head, laughing.

"I can guarantee it will not be like the Genii one. Be ready in the afternoon, and bring a change of clothes as we'll be staying the night," she said to me as I smiled and nodded eagerly. I was excited about this tonight party tonight. I mean with everything that had been going on lately, all of our stress levels were high; we were due a night of fun and relaxation.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Teyla asked Elizabeth as we stood at the cargo bay door of the jumper. Elizabeth smiled pleasantly at all of us as she shook her head.

"Someone responsible has to stay here, all of my senior staff are deserting me," she said with a playful look directed at John, Lorne and myself. "Besides, I wouldn't be much fun anyway." Elizabeth waved her hand dismissively as Teyla sighed and nodded.

I looked over at our entourage. Teyla, Ronon, Lorne, John and myself all stood in our casual clothes. Rodney had _politely_ refused to come when he found out that we would be staying the night, "Oh—I can't, my back and all…won't do any good sleeping on some dirt floor," he had said to us.

"Well, I'll be sure to drink your half," John commented to Elizabeth as she chuckled.

"Just try not to do anything I wouldn't do, but regardless, enjoy yourselves," she said with a smile as the five of us nodded and said our goodbyes to her. It was now that it dawned on me that I was with the people who knew about my relationship with John. I felt a blush creep up on my cheeks when I realized that John and I wouldn't have to hide with our present company, I didn't know if that excited or terrified me.

My gaze trailed over him as he continued to talk with Lorne and Elizabeth, he was dressed in a simple army green shirt and denim jeans, it was hot this time of year in the mainland so I had also dressed to the occasion. My only pair of daisy dukes and a black tank top, I left my hair out, I hadn't been able to cut it in a while so it was now the longest it had ever been, falling to the middle of my back. Lorne was in a blue button down and jeans; Teyla and Ronon looked the same, it wasn't a shock to see them in their usual clothes, they weren't bound by uniform regulations like the rest of us.

"Have fun and be safe," Elizabeth fare welled us once more as we collectively waved to her and filed into the jumper. I set down my overnight bag next to Teyla's as I watched John and Lorne take up the pilot and co-pilot seat respectively as I hung back with Teyla and Ronon in the rear compartment.

When we got to the Mainland the festivities were already underway. John parked the jumper on the outskirts of the settlement as I shouldered my bag and followed our group outside. Tables were set up in the middle, all filled with various foods and drinks as I looked over to one of the corners as saw some strange instruments being played by some of the Athosian's. I could feel the grin on my face as I looked all around us. All of Teyla's people were greeting us with smiles and laughter as they drank from cups and a bunch of them were already dancing to the strange music.

She led us to a set of tents and motioned to the door with her hand.

"Major Lorne and Ronon, you'll be sharing this tent for tonight," she said to them with a smile as Lorne and Ronon quickly ducked in to set their things down. "The feast will be starting soon, I shall meet you there," she called out to them as she motioned for John and I to follow her.

With every step I took I could feel my cheeks getting warmer at the prospect that John and I were probably going to be sharing a tent and Teyla had obviously done this on purpose seeing as she knew about our relationship. We didn't walk for long before she stopped outside of a small tent the exact size as Ronon and Lorne's. She turned to John and I with a cheeky smile.

"And this is your tent," she said, pointing to the door as John glanced over his shoulder down at me, he was grinning with a half smile as I felt my face flush. It was weird for everyone to still be so open about us; I was still getting used to it.

I ducked my head bashfully and marched into the tent, I could hear Teyla and John chuckling behind me as I glanced around quickly. Fur rugs lined the floor and a modest bed sat in the center large enough for John and I to sleep comfortably in it together, not like our miniscule ones in Atlantis that had us pressed up against each other every night; not that I minded. I heard John enter behind me just as I dropped my bag down on the floor and turned to face him.

"Are you not the least bit weirded out about them all knowing about us?" I asked John as I planted my hands on my hips.

"That's not even a word," he replied, setting his bag down on the opposite side to me as he shuffled around to me.

"Not my point," I said sternly as John chuckled kindheartedly.

"What's on your mind?" John asked. Ever since returning from Ford's planet and speaking to Heightmeyer, I noticed that John always asked me how I was feeling and what I was thinking about, I guessed it was a way for him to feel closer to me; I tended to keep a lot bottled up inside. During everything that had been happening, we hadn't really spoken about the others knowing about us, apart from a small conversation we had in the mess hall with everyone we hadn't discussed our relationship getting out in the open with the others.

"I'm just worried that someone's going to slip up about us, and we're the ones who're going to have to deal with the consequences."

"You should have more faith in them, Mia," John retorted.

"I do!" I argued, then I stopped and recomposed myself, "I don't want anything to screw this up now that we're back together. The more people who know, the more chances we have of slipping up."

John placed his hands on my shoulders as I met his hazel gaze, I could see that there was no doubt in his gaze.

"You trust each one of them with your life?" John asked as I furrowed my brows. What a stupid question.

"Of course," I stated firmly.

"Then you have nothing to worry about," he said with his half smile. "Besides, Teyla's not the one who organized this; I did," he said as I felt my mouth part open in questioning.

"Huh?"

John laughed at my apparent confusion; "I wanted to have a night with you away from the city, away from our responsibilities and rules. Teyla helped organize the feast so that we had a cover story," I stared at John. I could feel my smile growing. "We invited the others so it wouldn't be suspicious if it was the two of us going."

I was speechless, I felt a warm feeling spread through me at the mention of all the trouble John had gone through for this, it also made me feel guilty seeing as I never did anything like this for him; John was more of a closet romantic then I was. I felt my face heat up again at his explanation as I pulled him down to me and kissed him hard on the mouth, he let out a shocked noise in the back of his throat but he soon wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body against his—

"Whoa—sorry!"

I jumped away from him like I had been burned, both of our heads looked to the entrance of the tent as I saw Lorne looking at anything but us, his face was gradually turning red from barging in on us as John laughed at his expression.

"I uh—I came to tell you that Teyla's waiting for us," he said, rubbing the back of his head as I grinned.

"We're coming," I told him with a grin as Lorne held up his thumb and then backed out of the tent. John and I shared a look, him smirking down at me with his cheeky grin as I rolled my eyes and took his hand as I tugged him behind me.

* * *

John stood back with Ronon as the two men drank from the clay cups, the alcohol that the Athosian people brewed and traded was stronger then most Earth drinks. It did taste familiar to beer but had more of a kick to it. John looked across the bonfire that had been erected for the celebration as he watched his female teammate and girlfriend chatting to other Athosian women. Mia had a clay cup in her hand as she drank deeply from it, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

One of the Athosian women said something to Teyla and Mia as the small group burst out into loud giggles.

"Colonel."

John was pulled from watching his girlfriend as he faced Lorne who had joined the two. Lorne had a cup in his hand and some leftover food from the feast in the other.

"We're off duty, Lorne," John said with a pointed look to his SIC. Lorne nodded as Ronon pinched some of the food off him, claiming that he was still hungry as Lorne laughed.

The feast had been glorious, there had been so much food to go around, it was amazing at how much the Athosian's grew and traded, they were also all good cooks, except Teyla, she had been the butt of a few jokes from Halling about her cooking.

"So what's the real reason for this celebration?" Lorne asked John as the Colonel looked over at him. Ronon was listening, but didn't comment, as his mouth was full. John smirked at his SIC, he was too observant for his own good.

"What makes you say that?" John asked.

"Teyla told me," he replied. John chuckled heartedly, so he wasn't observant, Teyla just couldn't keep the information to herself apparently.

"It's Mia's birthday in a few days and our one year in a few weeks."

"Wait a year?" Lorne asked, curious. "You guys have been together for that long?"

"I knew that," Ronon said smugly, remembering when Mia had told him on the Hive Ship when Teyla had questioned her.

"You didn't?" John asked Lorne as the man shook his head in laughter.

"I never asked her, I assumed it hadn't been that long."

There was a comfortable silence between the men as the listened to the music playing and the laughter echoing around them from the happy people. John's eyes were drawn over to Mia again who seemed to be telling a story to the women around her by her facial expressions and her large arm movements, she could never do anything subtly.

"She needs this," John mumbled to the two men beside him, catching their attention once more. "After everything that she's been through the past year and a half. I owe it to her to make her happy."

Ronon and Lorne nodded in agreement, even though both men hadn't been here at the start of the Atlantis expedition, they had been told of the hardships that Mia had gone through, from loosing her father, godfather and her best friend to being taken hostage for six weeks and almost dying a couple times, hell, they all needed a night to relax—

"Mia! Dance with me!" a young voice broke through as John felt his jealously rear its ugly head at someone dancing with his girlfriend. It dissipated when he realized it was Jinto, the young teenager that had always harbored an innocent crush on Mia.

John watched as Jinto, who had grown remarkably since he had last saw him, hurried over to Mia and pulled on her arm. His girlfriend laughed merrily, the flushed look on her face was from the alcohol that she had been consuming as she held up her finger to the women behind her as she let Jinto pull her towards the bonfire where other couples were dancing the tradition Athosian dance.

* * *

Jinto pulled me into the area with the other couples as I laughed as he spun me around. I hadn't seen him in a long time, and now he was almost the same size as me, which didn't surprise me, as Halling was three heads taller than me. I looked at the other Athosian's dancing as I grimaced, I wasn't a good dancer as is, but the alcohol in my system was telling me that I could definitely do the intricate moves.

"I'll help you!" Jinto said cheerfully as he started to do the moves, I was copying to the best of my ability as I kicked out my legs and spun around, mimicking Jinto. There was a part where Jinto and I had to hold our hands up and circle each other as I followed him, I was grinning broadly at how much fun I was having as I could tell Jinto was having the time of his life by his smile and the blush on his cheeks. We changed direction and as we circled each other my gaze was drawn to the other side of the bonfire, for a few seconds I met a pair of hazel eyes that were shining with mirth at the sight of me dancing. John was standing with Lorne and Ronon as the latter was speaking to each other and laughing, John had his gaze focused solely on me; that was until Teyla went running up to him and pulled on his arm. John was trying to get of dancing with the Athosian woman but Teyla was almost as stubborn as me. I could see the grin on his face as Teyla tried with all her might to get him to dance with her.

As Jinto and I circled again I saw that Lorne had stepped up and handed his clay cup to John with one hand and held out the other to Teyla as the Athosian woman grinned and led Lorne out towards the area that Jinto and I were currently dancing in. I laughed loudly as Jinto took my hand and spun me around a few times.

I was all danced out. Jinto and I touched foreheads in the proper parting way as he thanked me for dancing with him as he jogged over to his friends as they all chatted between them and hurried off. Teyla and Lorne were still dancing to my right; Lorne was attempting to copy Teyla but ended up getting tangled in his own feet, causing Teyla to laugh at him. I looked over at John who was now in a deep conversation with Halling, the two men seemed to be talking about something that I couldn't hear from my position. I took a quick look around the area, not seeing Ronon but not worried about him, I mean, what was the worst that could happen to the Hulk reincarnated?

I walked over to John and Halling, the latter seeing me approach as he greeted me with a smile.

"Mia, it's a pleasure to see you," he said as I returned his smile and stopped by John's side.

"It's good to see you, Halling," I replied. John was looking down at me as I slipped my hand into his large, warm one. I squeezed his hand tenderly as I looked back over at Halling. The older man's gaze went from us to our hands and then back to us as he smiled.

"I shall take my leave, enjoy the rest of the night," he said politely to us as John and I said our goodbyes as we watched Halling walk off to another part of the settlement.

"Having a good night?" John asked me with a smirk as I felt my cheeks redden, embarrassed about the dancing he had obviously witnessed.

"It's a great night," I said as I stepped up on my tiptoes and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek.

"I can think of something that'll make it even better," John said with a wink as I felt a smirk pull at the corner of my mouth, understanding his hidden meaning. With a sharp tug I pulled John towards the direction of our tent.

* * *

 **Aww some cute fluff at the end. Yeah it's pretty corny and cheesy but idgaf, I find it cute xD**

 **Thank you everyone for your feedback and I'l see you all next week!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Sheppardgirl08** \- You're very welcome ahahah! Hope you enjoyed!

 **thompsonmaria9** \- She does continue talking to her, but I skipped it over as it was becoming pretty repetitive at this point, she's done it so many times I think you can all guess about what they talked about

 **Julka212** \- man Rodney is so much fun to tease, I'm such a horrible person to him...but we love it xD God I'm still not over the Sheppia name, I just love it so much and so happy that they have a ship name that actually sounds so cool. Yeah well I guess you'll be happy that I'm probably skipping over all Heightmeyer scenes as it's become pretty repetitive at this time xD ahaha I wasn't going for that but I guess it was pretty freaky, damn our girl having some PTSD troubles now. They do honestly! I'm always giggling and grinning at my phone ahaha. I walked up to him and literally only said hello, he stared at me for like a few seconds like I was absolutely mental...which might be true tbh xD

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Hahaha thank you! I'm literally imagining Ronon saying 'Why do you have a baby?' in his confused voice xD that honestly would've been so funny to write, damn why didnt I think about that before? ahaha Literally everyone is asking me about a baby between these two xD maybe I should start asking about names for this kid that may or may not come. who knows when I'll be bringing in a pregnancy? xD Yeah they make me blush too, I hate re-reading them once they're written, I just get so embarassed knowing that I wrote it xD


	55. Emergence - Chapter 55

**Hi guys! Thanks for your feedback for the last chapter, I appreciate it and I'm glad you all enjoyed the ending for it! It was a nice change from all the mission crazy-ness that happened in the last chapter. This chapter is completely canon of Grace Under Pressure, again, while I loved watching this episode it was a bitch to write about so sorry if it's rushed in some places but hopefully you all enjoy nonetheless!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"Ok, Radek, fire her up," I called into the cockpit from the rear compartment as I grabbed the data pad from the chair. I heard him mutter something in Czech as the jumper suddenly came to life under us. The engines purred as all the data got sent to the data pad that I was holding in my hands.

"How's it looking?" Radek asked me as I nodded and scrolled through all the data.

"Everything seems to be in the green. The left drive pod isn't emitting as much power as I would like it to but it can be compensated…just give me…" I trailed off as I started adjusting the power requirements on the tablet.

"Hey," a voice said from behind me as I looked over my shoulder and saw John leaning on the cargo bay door. I held a finger to my lips and nodded over at Radek who was busy staring at the HUD screen in the cockpit. He realized that the Czech scientist was here. "Are you ready yet?" John asked as I the tablet beeped in confirmation.

"Almost," I replied absentmindedly as Radek looked over his shoulder at me, he noticed John standing there as he waved.

"Afternoon, Colonel, what brings you here?" He asked, rising from the chair and shuffling over to us.

"Ah, it's the Major's birthday today," John said as he nudged me with his hand, "the team and I are having an early dinner to celebrate." I felt my cheeks flush slightly; I hadn't really wanted anyone to know about my birthday this year.

"Oh, I didn't realize, Mia," Radek said, I could hear the shocked tone in his voice as I met his kind gaze, "Happy birthday."

"Thanks, Radek," I said sheepishly as the Czech scientist suddenly snatched the data pad out of my hands. "What are you doing? I'm not finished yet!"

"You shouldn't be doing this on your birthday, go and celebrate with your friends," Radek ordered as he pushed his glasses up on his nose. I crossed my arms stubbornly and narrowed my eyes at the scientist.

"I want to do this, they can wait," I waved my hand in John's face as I heard him chuckle.

"No, no, I can handle it from here on," Radek protested as he began to shoo me out of the jumper.

"Radek, I—"

"Just go, Mia," Radek cut me off with a stern, fatherly look as I rolled my eyes at him and sighed. "Go and enjoy your afternoon," he said as I finally relented.

"Ok, fine, but if you need any help with anything, just radio me and I'll be back up in a flash," I said with a serious look as Radek chuckled.

"I will, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

I gave him a thoughtful smile as I turned on my heel. I met John who was standing outside of the jumper as I shoved him playfully as he laughed.

"What?"

"You know that I was supposed to be fixing this jumper today," I scolded him with my 'mean' stare as John held his hands up in surrender.

"Yeah well, Radek was right, you shouldn't be working so hard on your birthday," he argued as we descended the jumper bay stairs.

"It was my choice, and besides, it's just a birthday, they come around every year."

"You love them really, and I bet you're much happier this year round," he said with a wink as I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him childishly.

He was referring to my birthday last year when he, Teyla and Ford had all ditched me to go to the mainland and surprise me with presents, they hadn't told me they were going and all acted like they had forgotten about me. I touched the necklace that was still hanging around my neck, it was a beautiful blue gemstone that matched my eye colour, John had given it to me. The leather bracelet that Teyla had given me was still on my wrist, granted it was very tattered and beaten up from the past year.

The dagger that Ford had given me was sitting in it's box in my room, it was such a beautiful piece of work that I never wanted to touch it, lest I ruin it; and it held a deeper meaning to me now, seeing as Ford was out of my life.

"Last year I was ready to throttle the lot of you," I said with a growl as John laughed loudly.

"I can still remember the shocked face you had when we all surprised you," he then proceeded to make a stupid face that was obviously intended to be me. I glared at him and smacked his shoulder as he winced and jumped away from me. "Ok, ok, I'll stop now," he said with a grin.

We arrived at the mess hall as I spotted the usual group sitting at the table. Ronon, Teyla, Lorne and Carson were chatting amongst themselves, that was until they saw me when they all broke out into cheerful smiles and welcomed me.

"Happy birthday," Carson said to me as I thanked him. I approached the chair that was empty, next to Teyla as John suddenly appeared and pulled it out for me, I sent him a thankful smile as I sat down, him tucking it in behind me as he walked around and went and sat next to Ronon.

"Where's Rodney?" I asked them all. Rodney had been invited to this early dinner, he had obviously said yes as we would be eating so I was surprised to not see him here.

"He left a few minutes ago," Teyla explained for me as I turned my attention to her, "he said something about Doctor Zelenka needing him to check over a repaired jumper or something."

"That sneaky—" I muttered as I went to stand up. I was half standing when John's voice made me stop.

"Mia, sit down," John said with his commanding tone as I pursed my lips at him.

A thought suddenly went through my head, "I have to go, I forgot to tell Radek about the left drive pod and how—"

"I'm sure, between them both they'll be able to figure it out," John said as I sent him a pleading look. I really wanted to work on the jumper, it had been fun, finally getting my hands dirty in the Ancient technology once more, and besides, the jumpers were my specialty, I knew more about them then Rodney or Zelenka.

"I agree with the Colonel," Lorne added as I turned my glare onto him. "Let the scientists do their job, and let us crack open this bottle of wine," Lorne said with a grin as he help up the champagne bottle.

I sighed heavily as I made myself comfortable in the chair, "fine." I muttered in defeat at the others grinned at my expense. Lorne then proceeded to pop open the champagne bottle. I took the offered glass as I sipped on it, I thought about the left drive pod. I had forgotten to tell Radek about it, hopefully to just be careful and double check that the power distribution was correct before going for the test fly that he said he would do.

I mean, what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

The worst happened.

The jumper had crashed into the ocean, and it was partly my fault, I just knew it. We had only been a few drinks into the champagne bottle when John and I got the call from Elizabeth to get up to the control room.

Rodney and the pilot, Miller, had crashed into the ocean and were currently trapped with the jumper unresponsive. Radek had lost contact with them about an hour ago, from the quick description that Rodney had given before the front compartment had breached and he had lost contact; they were falling twenty feet a minute and he was badly injured.

I clenched my fist as I stood on top of the jumper, I was directing a few of the other scientists on where to put their equipment and what job they should be doing next, I consulted with the welder who was down below fixing up the winch. My nails dug into the fleshy palm of my hand as I thought about Rodney. I hoped to God that he was alive; I knew I should've gone back up to tell them about the drive pod, it was the only explanation as to why the jumper would malfunction.

Stupid Rodney for not double checking my work.

"What's all this?" I heard Elizabeth say as I looked over my shoulder. She was approaching John as she gazed around the crowded and noisy room. The sounds of machinery in my ears but I was still able to make out their conversation.

"This is my plan," John replied as he motioned to the jumper and the winch that was being installed just now.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Elizabeth stated, "You care to elaborate?" She asked. I looked down at the floor as I crouched down and slid down the side of the jumper. I landed with a thud, catching the pair's attention as I walked over to them both.

"Well, Doctors Moore and McNab are here to study the ocean on M8R-1229, which happens to be under a thick sheet of ice, so they brought a thousand-foot cable and a pretty powerful winch to lower their instruments," John explained hastily as he pointed to the mechanic welding the winch.

"Ok," Elizabeth said, trying to keep up.

"And Edgar over here is responsible for the magnetic grapple designed to lower the F-302s into our jumper bay."

"And you intend to put the two together," Elizabeth stated with a knowing smile.

"Like chocolate and peanut butter," John clapped his hands as I grimaced. That analogy sounded disgusting, but I guess I was biased seeing as I was allergic to nuts.

"Is the mechanism going to be strong enough to lift a half-flooded jumper out of the water?" She asked as I shook my head as John spoke.

"Not a chance," he put it bluntly as Elizabeth looked between us.

"Well, the why are you…" she trailed off; unable to understand why we were putting in all of this effort if it wasn't going to work.

"Because we don't have to," John explained. "We just have to get near enough to the surface so we can get McKay and Griffin out with a cutting team and rescue divers."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding; honestly I thought she would try swimming down herself if it meant we'd be able to rescue the two.

"Good, how long?" She asked, the question was directed more at me seeing as I was the mechanical engineer in charge.

"An hour, maybe two," I said with a firm nod. She cut back over to John.

"You and Rodney have been bugging me for a chance at trying a jumper as a submersible, but you sure went a hell of a long way to me say yes," she said in exasperation. John chuckled, bouncing of the balls of his feet.

"Well, you still haven't said it yet."

"I just did," she stated with a smirk. John clapped his hands excitedly. I'm glad he was enjoying himself, and here I was, ripping my own hair out as I was mainly to blame for this predicament.

As Elizabeth was leaving John had asked her how long it was going to take Radek to find the jumper, she had replied that she was going to ask him now and get back to us. I sighed and watched John run into the jumper and start asking the engineers about the mechanics and everything.

* * *

One hour and twenty-three minutes it took me to get the jumper ready.

"Alright, let's test it out!" I hollered as I stood in front of the jumper. One of the mechanics that had the ATA gene was sitting in the pilot seat as the jumper hovered into the air. "Activate the winch!" I called out as the pilot nodded and turned to the man sitting next to him. I heard the loud purring of the winch as it proceeded to lower to the ground.

I waved my hand, telling him to stop as I wound my hand around in the air, signaling him to retract it. It ran smoothly as I gave him the thumbs up as he lowered the jumper back down on the metal stilts that we had MacGyver-ed together as I hurried around to the back of the jumper just as the door came down.

"Good work guys, I'm going to head down and tell Doctor Weir and Colonel Sheppard the good news."

They nodded their heads in understanding as I spun around on my heel and headed out of the jumper bay. I came sprinting down the stairs and barged into Elizabeth's office just as Radek was telling them about how he had managed to narrow down the search grid for the sunken jumper.

"It's ready," I said to them as John and Elizabeth gave me a thankful look as we all turned our attention to the large screen which highlighted a specific grid which I assumed was our search area.

"Three miles, a very searchable area," John said to Radek as he studied the screen. "And you've narrowed it down, Radek. You did a good job," John praised him.

"He's too deep," Radek admitted solemnly. "Your grapple's only got a thousand feet of cable."

"Well, we know the jumper should be able to dive at leas a thousand, so if he's above two thousand, we should still be able to get him with the grapple," John explained to him.

"And if he's deeper?" Elizabeth questioned hesitantly.

"He probably is," Radek summarized. "The area we're searching goes to six thousand."

I felt my stomach drop at that news. It was silent in the room for at least a minute before John broke it with an idea, "When the Wraith attacked the city, you were able to turn the shield into a cloak."

"Yes," Radek agreed.

"Why can't we do the opposite?" John asked, looking to me, silently asking me if that was possible. I gave him a dumbfounded look, I had never actually considered doing something like that.

"Turn the jumper's cloak into a shield," Elizabeth stated in awe.

"That's right," John agreed.

"That would hold back the water yes, but it would take significantly more power," Radek explained as I stood there, going over all the calculations I would need to try and change it.

"We shut down everything we don't need," John said thoughtfully as I saw Radek look flabbergasted at the prospect of trying to accomplish this task in a measly few hours.

"But it would take hours to reconfigure."

"Take what we need, we'll make the changes down there," John offered as Radek's eyes went wide behind his glasses.

"Oh! No-no-no-no, I cannot possibly…" he trailed off, obviously terrified of the thought of going in the jumper under water.

"Radek," Elizabeth said with a concerned tone. The nervous scientist looked over at her.

"I can't even swim!" He exclaimed.

"There's not a lot of swimming under a thousand feet of ocean."

"Because that's going to make him feel better," I said to John with a pointed look, he discreetly winked at me as I rolled my eyes.

"Look, I'm not going to order you to go—"

"I will!" John cut in, his previous jesting mood gone.

"I'll go," I said, laying a hand on Radek's arm soothingly as he gave me a thankful smile. "I know the jumpers, I can make the changes. I'm the reason the drive pod failed, Rodney and Miller are stuck down there because of me," I admitted. Elizabeth gave me a sympathetic look.

"You couldn't have known this would've happened," she said to me.

"No," I agreed with a nod. "But it did, and I need to do this."

"I'll go." Radek suddenly said. I looked over at him, shocked at his bold statement as he gave me a slight shrug. "As much as I hate to admit it, Rodney is my friend, and I couldn't live with myself if I didn't go."

"Alright," John said as he clapped me on the shoulder gently. "Gear up and meet in the jumper bay when you're ready."

I nodded to him as Radek and I hurried out of the room.

* * *

"How's it coming?" John asked as he looked over his shoulder at me. The jumper then decided to groan under the pressure of the water as I felt a shiver go up my spine. I continued my work on the data pad in the rear compartment as Radek was working on the laptop.

"Almost there, you know, it's a lot harder then it seems to basically rewrite the jumpers entire operating system," I said with a snarky tone that freakishly reminded myself of something that Rodney would say in this situation—dear God I'm turning into him…

"And you have my sincerest thanks for doing it," John replied as I pursed my lips at him. "Knowing that I can count on you to do the impossible when Rodney isn't here."

"It's not impossible to do this, it's just a pain in the ass," I paused for a second. "…Like you," I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?" John called back.

"I said nice view!"

Radek chuckled from his seat.

"Are you picking anything up on the sensors yet?" John asked Radek.

"Just the sea life still. The jumpers sensor are stretched very thin now, any more power and Mia wouldn't have enough to convert the cloak into a shield."

"It consumes power just to change it over," I muttered as I changed over the crystal. The data pad beeped in my hand as I glanced down at it, reading over the diagnostic. "How far down are we?" I called out to John, my eyes still glued to the screen.

"Almost at one-thousand," he replied back casually as I clicked my tongue, John heard me. "What is it?"

"I've got to get the shield operating before we hit the one-thousand mark, if we're under too much pressure the shield wont initiate properly and we'll die," I explained as I hastily dropped the tablet onto the chair and proceeded to rip out the crystals that I didn't need to power this hunk of junk.

"Good to know," John commented as Radek came over to me.

"Should you really be ripping them out like that? What if you take out the life support—or the drive pods?"

"Radek," I said, not stopping my work as I ground my teeth together. "I've been studying these jumpers for over a year now, I know what I'm doing—and if you would like to try and swim down to Rodney be my guest," I snapped. I didn't mean to be grouchy at him, I was just on a time limit and I needed to get this done, having someone question me really ticked me off.

Shit, I _was_ turning into Rodney…

"Good point, do you need me to do anything?" He asked hesitantly, hoping that I wouldn't bite his head off again.

"Be ready to make the transition on my mark."

He scurried back to the seat as I finished taking out the last crystal and clipped the data pad back into the port. Once everything was in the green I called out to Radek.

"Alright, switch it over and gird your loins, this has never been tested before!"

There was a low hum as the jumper shuddered, I turned my head to look over to the large window as I watched the shimmer of the shield enclose around the jumper. I grinned, pleased with myself that I had actually managed to do something that Rodney had only dreamed about, I was going to gloat like there was no tomorrow when we rescued him; if he was alive that is.

"Nice work," John said, I could hear the grin in his voice as I walked over and stood behind his seat as Radek sat in the co-pilot gazing out into the endless dark.

"Thanks," I said with a smirk as I leant on the back of the chair with my arms folded. "I'm surprised it worked."

"Let's take us a little deeper," John said as he gripped the controls and began to lower us further down.

I heard Radek mutter something in Czech as he sprung up from the chair, "Wait. Wait-wait-wait-wait. I was afraid of this," he said, flustered as he ran back to his laptop, I joined him, looking over his shoulder at the readings. "The shield is draining our power at an alarmingly fast rate."

"I thought you shut everything off that we didn't need," John stated to me.

"I did!" I retorted, "But according to this it wouldn't have done much anyway, the more pressure that we're under, the faster the shield is taxed."

"The cloak draws at a constant rate," Radek added as I saw John nod his head in understanding as the realization dawned on his face.

"So, being under several atmospheres of pressure…"

"It's continuously draining power from our shield," Radek agreed.

"How much time do we have?" John asked. Radek and I both looked at the calculations as the scientist peered up at me through his glasses, confirming the time.

"Once we're deeper, thirty minutes, tops."

"Alright," John sighed. "Descending through one-thousand."

* * *

We had only been travelling for fifteen minutes but it felt like we had been down here a lifetime. Radek was glued to his laptop, studying the readings and life sign detector as I kept my eye on the power levels of the jumper. I could see the beads of sweat accumulating on John's forehead, and it wasn't because it was hot in here, in fact, it was bloody freezing.

From behind, Radek let out a string of Czech that sounded very angry as John and I quickly met gazes and looked back to the window.

"I think my Czech is getting better, because I know what you mean," John muttered to Radek as the scientist smacked his hands on his lap in exasperation.

"Could be the shields, could be the depth—I'm having trouble detecting the jumper…only…" Radek trailed off as I glanced over at him.

"Only what?" John asked, keeping his eyes staring ahead.

"Could you bring up the HUD, please?"

John nodded and a second later the glass window was overtook by the HUD as I stared at it. There was a blue dot blinking across the screen, as I studied the readings I noticed the scale of that creature.

"What's that?" John asked.

"Your sea monster. It's at least six to eight times as large as this jumper, so let's not venture too closely, ok?"

"Unless we want to end up like Moby Dick or Pinocchio," I grumbled with a shudder as John sent me a glare.

"How're the shields doing?" He asked us.

"Twelve minutes," came Radek's solemn reply. I noticed that John was still staring at the sea creature on the screen with his brows knitted together.

"Alright let's check it out," he said, steering the jumper in its direction.

"Why?" Radek asked, his tone laced with concern. I think he was taking my metaphor to heart.

"Because it's still swimming around in circles in the same area," John said as I felt my eyebrows rise in alarm as I snapped my head to look at the screen again. It was indeed as he said, the monster was swimming in circles. "Which means it might have found something."

"Like the jumper…" I guessed as I heard Radek make a small noise of acknowledgment.

It was literally a minute later when I heard Radek jump up from his chair behind me, "The jumper! I have the jumper. The animal is circling around it," he said.

John smacked his hand down onto the comms, "Jumper six, this is Sheppard, come in."

Radek had been looking at the screen as I had, the sensor had indicated that the jumper was there, yes, but there was no power.

"According to these readings, it's dead. There's no power," he said as I felt my stomach drop right out of my ass.

"I can't get a lock on any life sign readings, something's interfering," I mused as John set his face in determination.

"Alright, let's get a grapple on this thing and go home."

"No, it won't work," Radek, said as John and I both turned to look at him.

"Why's that?" John asked.

"It's taken on too much water. Sensors indicate even the rear compartment is partially full. The cable can't take the strain."

"But we can try," John argued. I shook my head as I heard Radek sigh in exasperation.

"No, listen to me. It's a matter of simple physics," Radek motioned with his hands as John narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth in frustration.

"I'm not coming this far without doing something!"

I agreed with him. With all three of us here, surely there was something that we could think of to get Rodney and Griffin out of the jumper and home safely.

"The shield," Radek said suddenly, "We can extend the shield between the two jumpers," he hurried back to his laptop, muttering under his breath as John followed him with his eyes.

"Do we have enough power?" He asked, his eyes cutting to me for clarification as I just shrugged and grimaced.

"Yes," Radek said as I looked at him, perplexed as to _how_. "If we touch down on the ocean floor to conserve engine power, it should be just a matter of walking between the two jumpers."

I suddenly understood, and this is why Radek is a lot more smarter and the reason why he was here, if it had just been John and I here, I wouldn't have had a clue on what to do.

"Alright, I'll get us close," John said as he maneuvered the jumper onto the floor. When we touched down the jumper shook as I heard the sound of the shield extending.

I hit the button for the cockpit doors to close as John gave me a pointed look, "Just incase," I said to him as he rolled his eyes at me. Hey, if he wanted to put faith in a shield that was about ready to collapse then he can come down here after and try it for himself, but for now, I'm closing the damn door.

John opened up the cargo bay door as we all waited on baited breath, once we realized that the shield had held I opened up the doors as John and I hurried out.

"Holy shit," I said in awe as I glanced up and around. This was amazing. Fish swam by the shield as my feet sunk into the soft sand as John ran over to the jumper.

I set my gaze back down, remembering that we were here for a purpose and not to sightsee.

"Your radio should work if his is working," I told John as he quickly hit the button on his ear radio.

"McKay. Griffin, do you copy?" He asked, looking over at me.

" _Sheppard!"_

John and I grinned at each other, thankful to be hearing Rodney's grating voice once more.

"Hey, buddy. What say you lower your door?"

" _That's probably a bad idea,"_ Rodney said back to us. I could tell by his tone of voice that he was maybe borderline hyperthermia.

"Listen," John said. "Long story short, we've converted the cloak into a shield and extended it around your jumper. I'm standing outside right now," John raised his fist and pounded on the jumper's cargo bay door for emphasis.

" _What?_ "

"All you have to do is open your door and walk to my jumper," John explained.

There was silence on both ends as John and I shared a worried look. What the hell was taking him so long? Was the Jumper's door busted? Even if the jumper had no power, it was designed to blow the hatches when released; it shouldn't take any power consumption to do this.

I glanced over my shoulder, seeing Radek pointing to his watch and tapping it, I nodded in affirmation. John had seen this as well as he spoke into his radio again, "McKay? What's the hold up? We need to do this sooner rather then later. This shield isn't going to hold forever."

We waited again; I was seriously thinking that maybe we had imagined Rodney speaking back to us.

" _Ok_ ," came his weak reply as I breathed out a sigh of relief, " _Better stand back, we've taken on a lot of water._ "

John gripped my arm and pulled me back a few feet, away from the door so that we wouldn't be crushed by the door and the galleons of water that were surely about to come speeding out of there.

We waited again, and then we both heard the sound of the door opening. Water came spewing out, drenching my feet and ankles as I gasped at the amount that had been in there. Rodney was lucky we had found him when we had, it looked like any longer and he would've drowned.

The door touched down as John and I ran into the jumper and to Rodney who was collapsed on the floor of the jumper. He was drenched and I could see a large wound on the side of his head.

"Rodney!" I called as John and I knelt down next to him. He was spluttering out water and shivering terribly. As I glanced around the cargo hold, I noticed that Griffin wasn't here.

"Where's Griffin?" John asked as he heaved Rodney up onto his legs. I pulled one of his arms around my shoulder as he leant against John and I.

"He was in there," Rodney pointed to the cockpit as John and I shared a grim look.

"Ok, let's get you home," John said as we started pulling him out of the jumper. I could see Radek smiling in relief at Rodney being found alive.

"No, I need to decompress. Carter told me to increase the pressure," Rodney argued.

"Carter? As in Samantha Carter?" I asked him, perplexed.

"I mean I did, I did," he corrected. I was still confused but rolled with it. "Ow, my head!" He winced painfully as I could see the fresh blood trickling down his cheek. As we reached the jumper there was a large wail from the sea creature that had been circling the jumper, I felt a pang in my head but shrugged it off as the depth as Rodney gazed dreamily up at it.

"Oh—see pal. Sorry you don't get to eat me today," Rodney muttered.

"He's the reason we found you," John told him as we marched up the ramp and set Rodney down on the seat.

"Really?" he asked in surprise.

"We all thought you were a goner, Rodney," I said with a gentle nudge to his arm as he glared up at me.

"I knew you'd all think of something…subconsciously at least," he muttered, staring at us with wide pupils. I gave him a funny look as John and Radek took their seats in the cockpit as I turned to get the first aid kit from the overhead storage. When I turned around, Rodney was staring out of the jumper with a soft smile and a twinkle in his eye, which might have been the concussion though, I ushered him back onto the seat.

"Sit down, I need to treat your head wound," I ordered him as he raised his hand and touched the wound. He winced, electing a yelp as I rolled my eyes at him.

"I need to decompress," he repeated again as I nodded.

"I know, but I need to stop the bleeding before we do that." I took out the bandages and noticed that his whole body was still trembling from the cold, cursing under my breath as the jumper lurched forwards; I dug in the kit for the foil blanket as I wrapped it around his body.

* * *

"He going to be ok?" John asked as I sealed the rear compartment. I nodded to Radek to initiate the decompression for him as I slumped into the co pilot seat.

"I think so. The head wound was just a gash, most of the bleeding had stopped it was just a matter of patching him up again. The real question is if I'm going to survive this."

"What are you talking about?" John asked me, knitting his brows together in confusion.

I sighed and rubbed a hand down my face, "He is never going to let me forget that I almost killed him. Not to mention Griffin died because of a malfunction that I could've helped prevent."

"It is also on me then," Radek interrupted as I turned around in the chair to stare at him. "I checked over the drive pods also, when I ran my tests everything seemed fine. I think what happened was that after being repaired it might of short circuited and blown the drive pod, we couldn't have known that I was going to happen."

I could tell that Radek was trying to make me feel better, and also himself, but it didn't help the fact that a man was dead because of a freak accident that I should've been able to prevent.

"What's done is done," John said, giving me a meaningful look. "We can't change what happened, let's just be thankful that we managed to save one of them."

"I know," I agreed, nodding as I turned my attention back out to the pitch darkness of the ocean. "But I still have to live with it."

* * *

 **REPLIES**

 **paramakai66** \- That's ok, I'm just happy I still have readers after all this time xD how do you guys put up with me and my crazy story? I love Critical Mass too so I was happy to finally write about it but it was really hard. Her song played on in the background the entire time I wrote about the chapter for inspiration and mood and all those good things xD It's still a beautiful song and I fond myself listening to it every once in a while!

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

 **Julka212** \- Good ol' woman's intuition! I remember the first time I ever watched that episode and I was soconvinced that it was Kavanagh but it was Caldwell, blew my fuckn mind xD ahahah Teyla's on the sidelines with a flag with Sheppia written on it and just waves it every chance she gets xD god I love Teyla so much ahaha hopefully Mia's flexible...oh god...im going to stop now.

Imagine if Jinto actually tried to hit on Mia or something xD John threatening a teenager with something, he gets jealous easy ahaha xD Lorne's great for walking in on people, i especially love him when he's telling everyone to shut up and get drunk in this chapter xD

 **sheppardlover928** \- Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

 **Thank you everyone, see you next week!**


	56. Emergence - Chapter 56

**Hi everyone! Not much to say this week but thank you to everyone who has followed and reviewed! I know I say it alllllll the time but I am grateful to all of you! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"How was your birthday yesterday?" Teyla asked me in the locker room as we both zipped up our flak jackets. I sent her a pointed look as she pressed her lips into a firm line to stop herself from laughing. I reached behind her and took the p-90 hanging there and clipped it onto the front of my vest as she did the same.

"It was fine. We spent the day just relaxing and hanging out, I didn't want to make it a big deal this year," I said to her, brushing the hair out of my face and pulled the long tresses into a ponytail. I took the cap that was resting on the hook and pulled it onto my head, pulling my hair through it as Teyla clipped on her sidearm holster.

"That's good to hear," she said with a smile.

I rolled my eyes at her, it seemed every chance she got she reveled in teasing me about John, I didn't mind it anymore, it was just something that I now expected with my close group of friends.

Once we were set we headed out of the locker room and into the jumper bay. Rodney, John and Ronon were already waiting for us as the three men turned when we approached.

"Well its about time, we're always waiting on you ladies," John said with a cheeky smile as I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. Teyla laughed.

"My apologies, we were catching up about her birthday yesterday," Teyla explained as John motioned for us to head into the jumper.

"Oh yeah," Rodney spoke, tapping his chin. "How old are you now? Thirty?"

I sent my best glare at him, "Twenty-seven. Don't make me ask about your age, McKay," I said threateningly to him as he held up his hands in surrender and plopped down into the seat behind John. I took my seat in the co-pilot as John started the jumper up as Teyla sat behind me with Ronon leaning against her chair.

* * *

The planet we arrived on was hot and dry; thankfully I had left my heavy jacket back home on Atlantis so it was quite cool for me.

"The settlement was this way, I think," Rodney mused, consulting his scanner as I leaned against the jumper.

"You sure about that? Wouldn't want you to mistake it in your old age or something," I said smartly as Rodney glared at me.

"Let's stop with the back and forth bickering for now," John commented, coming between Rodney and I as I mock saluted him and pushed off the jumper, coming to stand next to him.

"From what the scans showed, the villages are spread out and very few, no large technology readings of any kind," I said to him, thinking back on the initial scan I had done of the planet.

"The largest one seems to be a few clicks in that direction," Rodney stated, holding his arm out in the northwest direction to us.

"Alright, let's go check them out, be on guard but if they're primitive we don't want to scare them," John said. I noticed he looked over at Ronon when he said that, giving him a stern look as the hulking Satedan shrugged his shoulders.

John and I led our team through the dense brush, Rodney was behind us chatting to himself about the different readings that he was getting from the planet, and even further back I could hear Teyla and Ronon talking quietly together.

"Hey Rodney? Have you managed to take a shower without freaking out yet?" I giggled, looking over my shoulder at the peeved scientist as he looked at me with wide eyes.

"How'd you find out about—I mean, what are you talking about?" He spluttered as I laughed loudly. I could feel John giving me a disapproving stare about teasing him but it was too much fun.

"Carson told me," I said with a smirk.

"That sneaky sonofa—I want to be clear, I wasn't freaking out, I got soap in my eye and I had to go see him," he clarified for me as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Sure thing, Rodney," I said with a grin.

"Can't you go one day without starting something with him?" John asked in exasperation as he stared down at me. I glanced up from under the cap of my hat and shook my head.

"It's what makes these long walks bearable," I defended myself as John rolled his eyes. He then fished in his jacket pocket for his sunglasses as he put them on, smirking down at me.

"I thought I was the one who made them bearable?" He asked, mocking fake hurt.

"You're the one whose making us walk," I deadpanned. "And it's sweltering, if anything I should be the one annoying you."

"You do that enough already," he said cheekily as I gasped. We passed by a low hanging branch with other smaller branches as I ripped one off and chucked it at his head. He dodged swiftly and chuckled at me.

"If you two are done?" Rodney muttered bitterly as John and I both looked over our shoulders at the scientist. "The settlement is just over there," he pointed to the left. I followed his hand and sure enough I could see the top of a straw hut in the distance, only about a hundred meters or so.

John and I turned and began heading in the direction as I could hear Rodney muttering about 'stupid flirting' and other things along that line. Sometimes I still forgot that Rodney didn't know, it wasn't like John and I flaunted are secret relationship on our missions, but we acted like this normally around each other in private. And knowing that we weren't bound by secrecy with over half our team, it felt stupid to act like only comrades. But don't get me wrong, the mission still came first, and our relationship issues could wait, unlike the times we had actually failed to uphold that, but it was nice to be able to relax and be casual around each other in public again.

* * *

Upon entering the village, the first thing that came to mind was that this place reminded me a lot like the village where Chaya had come from, the Ancient woman that posed as a high priestess. All around the citizens wore basic farm clothing, most were dirty and had holes in their dresses and pants. They were carting around wheelbarrows full of grain and wheat and vegetables. Once someone noticed us there was a collective gasp like what normally happened as a middle-aged woman came up to us.

"Greetings, I am Petra," she said. Her curly brown hair was matted and mud was smeared on her face, but her smile was sincere and gentle.

"I'm Colonel John Sheppard, this is my team," he started pointing to the lot of us. "Major Sumner, Teyla, Ronon and McKay."

"We've come to trade," Teyla added with a smile as the woman called Petra grinned.

"Well, we're always welcome to new trading partners, what village have you come from?" She asked us as John and Teyla shared a look.

"Uh…" John drawled.

"We've come from a long way," Teyla added as Petra looked at us in awe and nodded her head.

"You must've come from beyond the mountains, I will fetch Eldred, he normally deals with our trading offers. Please, wait over by that house and we'll return shortly," she ducked her head and scurried off in search of this Eldred man.

Once she was gone I glanced around the village, we had attracted some stares from the other villagers as I hesitantly raised my hand and waved to a few in a kind gesture. I followed the others as we moved to the house that Petra had designated for us as Rodney wondered off a few feet and started scanning the area, sticking his nose up in the process as I rolled my eyes at him. Princess Rodney is what we should start calling him.

* * *

Ronon was sitting on a bench, his head resting on his hand as he looked positively bored. Teyla was leaning against the pole that was holding up the veranda that we were standing under as John ducked his head into the house, calling back that it was some sort of storehouse for their crops but it didn't seem to be full.

After a while my feet got sore and it was becoming too hot to stand around, I took a seat on the floor, to the left of Ronon as I started drumming my fingers against the wooden floor.

"If we're hoping these people have something to trade, we are wasting our time," Rodney muttered grumpily as he shuffled back to the three of us. "From the looks of it, they barely have enough food to feed themselves; and their technology…" He picks up a rusted scythe and stumps it into the ground with a deadpanned look. "Well, let's just say that this about sums it up, huh?" He drawled as Teyla rounded on him.

"Establishing good relations with our neighbors is not just about trade," she said to him, sternly.

"Right, but do we need to make friends with every primitive agrarian society in the Pegasus Galaxy?" He asked, the sarcasm dripping off his mouth.

"Alright that's enough," John says as he comes back out of the hut, a sort of vegetable in his hand as he narrows his eyes at Rodney, "They can't all be planets with cool technology and open-minded women."

"Or women with low standards," I muttered under my breath. Ronon heard me as he chuckled lowly, giving me a smirk.

"I don't see why not!" Rodney protests loudly.

A man suddenly stepped under the veranda, he looked older then Petra and far more grubbier than her also. He was balding with salt and pepper hair and wore simple cream clothes.

"Greetings, I am Eldred," he said with a head nod to John.

"I'm Sheppard," John introduces himself to him as he points to the rest of us, "This is Ronon, Teyla, McKay and Mia," he said.

I push myself to my feet as Eldred walks straight passed John and to the other side of the veranda, looking around nervously.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but it's harvest time and we must prepare our tribute for the tower," Eldred explained as I shared a look with Teyla, she was concerned.

"The tower?" John asked.

"You must come from a distant land indeed if you have not heard of the Tower. I don't know of anyone who is not under its protection," Eldred stated in awe. His dark gaze roamed over us all as Teyla spoke.

"Protection from what?"

"The Wraith," Eldred stated matter-of-factly.

I watch as Rodney rolls his eyes at him, for what reason I couldn't understand, I just found it interesting that these people seemed to be under protection but yet lived in squalor.

"Is this Tower close by?" John inquired.

"I will show you, come," Eldred said immediately as he beckoned us to follow him.

We didn't have to walk for, only a hundred meters or so as we came to a hill and peered over it, "There!" Eldred said, pointing off into the distance as I set my eyes on something that I thought I would never see in a million years.

Poking out above the trees, and crawling with ivy growth was a spire of Atlantis, and not just any, it looked like the central spire, the one that housed the control room, gate room, jumper bay and infirmary.

"Is it my imagination or does that look a lot like—"

"The central spire of Atlantis?" Teyla finished off for John as the five of us stared at the structure, baffled.

* * *

We returned to village as John spoke to Eldred once more, "So how exactly do the people in the Tower protect you from the Wraith?"

"They have a great weapon capable of annihilating the Wraith ships which descend from the sky," Eldred explained as I felt my eyebrows rise.

"What kind of a weapon?" Rodney asked.

"Thousands of bright lights rise up from the ground beneath the Tower, swarm the ships and destroy them."

I meet John's gaze, I could see the speculation behind his hazel orbs as I too came to the same conclusion, that the Tower had drones to protect them, which means they have a chair and someone to control it and probably a ZPM to power it also.

"Really? Thousands of bright lights?" John asked Eldred as the older man nodded, confirming what he had just said.

"And have you seen this?" Teyla asked him.

"I have never seen a Wraith ship, they have not come for many generations, but there are times that the Lord Protector sees fit to…demonstrate his power to his people."

Lord Protector? If I had to guess, it would be that this guy was an Ancient, or at least had the gene like John and I did. From what Eldred said, it didn't seem like he was a nice guy though.

"We'd really like to meet this Lord Protector," John said to Eldred, causing the man to shake his head in remorse.

"That may prove difficult. Only members of the royal court are allowed in the Tower."

"Perhaps they would consider making an exception just this once?" Teyla said with a sincere and charming smile. As Eldred stared at her, I could see Teyla's charm working it's magic as Eldred sighed and nodded.

"I'll do what I can," he said to us as he hurried off in the direction of the Tower.

Once he was out of earshot Ronon turned to us, "You know this weapon he's talking about?"

"We call them drones," John explained to him. "We've used them to defend Earth and Atlantis, but we could really use some more."

"And not only that," Rodney added. "If these people have working drones, they must have a ZPM."

"And someone to operate it," I explained.

"Eldred said the Wraith have not come in a long time. Perhaps this technology is no longer operational," Teyla added in.

"I'll know more if I can get a little closer, take some readings," Rodney said to us as he suddenly spun around and pointed to the first person that was closet to him. "You there!"

The boy who turned was younger then me probably, with dark dirty hair and a mud encrusted face. His clothes and smell were something to be desired as he shuffled over to the scientist with an apprehensive look.

"Me?"

"I'm going to go fill Elizabeth in on what's been happening, sit tight and radio me if anything happens," John said to me as I nodded while still staring at Rodney ordering this young man to take him to the base of the tower.

"It's forbidden to enter the Tower," the young man said.

"Yeah I gathered. I don't want to enter it, just look around it," Rodney compromised to him, as the man seemed to think about it for a second.

"Well, there's no law in that, I can take you as far as the base."

"Perfect," Rodney said in glee as he looked over his shoulder at Ronon, Teyla and myself. "I'll be back soon, don't miss me too much."

"We'll try not to," I muttered back with an eye roll as Rodney marched off with the young man in tow.

Once he was gone I turned to Teyla and Ronon, "Now what?" I asked them both. Ronon shrugged and glanced down at Teyla who sighed and gave me a reassuring smile.

"We wait."

I sighed, "Of course."

* * *

I was leaning against the post of the nearby house, my head tilted back as I stared up into the cloudless blue sky as I thought about the Tower and the Lord Protector and everything we knew about this planet. Teyla and Ronon were a few feet away from me; chatting to Eldred about the Tower and other things that I wasn't really paying attention to when I head a disturbance across from me.

My gaze cut across the open area to where I saw four men dressed in crisp, dark uniforms with golden trim and caps on their heads come striding into the village. Immediately I notice the change in the villagers, their faces become fearful, with their eyes cast downwards to their feet. They started to move robotically, all talking ceased within the village as the wheelbarrows were brought to the village center and transferred into a large wooden cart.

I push off the post and walk up to Teyla and Ronon, "Is it just me, or do you guys feel a bad vibe from these guys?" I asked them as I crossed my arms over my chest and watched as Eldred suddenly scampered to them. He hurried over to the men; the tallest of the uniformed men, who had a badge on his chest that I assumed made him the leader of this small group turned his attention to Eldred.

The leader started advancing to Eldred, while he began to cower under him. The leader started shouting at him, from our distance I couldn't make out what he was saying but it couldn't be good.

I took a quick glance at Teyla and Ronon, both are staring with concerned looks at the confrontation before us, I wanted to intervene, to ask what was wrong and why Eldred, who was such a kind man, deserved this kind of treatment.

"Who are these guys?"

John had appeared by my side, returning from informing Elizabeth on our situation, he had asked the question.

"Soldiers from the Tower," Ronon stated to him.

Simultaneously, the leader of the soldiers backhands Eldred, knocking the poor man to the ground. The three of us see this and immediately spring into action.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Take it easy!" John calls out as the four of us halt a few feet away from the soldiers. The leader and his subordinates turn to us, confusion and curiosity on their faces as they see us.

"Who are you?" His voice is low and commanding.

"Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, who are you?" John asks, his negotiating voice on.

"I am a Constable of the Lord Protector's guard, and this village scum," the Constable turns to sneer at Eldred as I frown at him. "Dared to defy me. It's clear we're going to have to make an example." The Constable reaches into his belt and pull's out a very medieval looking whip. He unfurls it, causing the four of us to hoist our own weapons up and aim it at their heads. I hold my p-90 steady, the constable's forehead in the center of my vision as he stares back at us incredulously.

"I don't think so," John warns, his own p-90 aimed at the constable.

"Please, Colonel, its all my fault," Eldred moans from the floor. I was aghast, why was Eldred defending the man who was about to beat him bloody?

"If you think I'm going to sit here and let you whip an innocent man, you're sorely mistaken," John growls, his gaze focused solely on the threat.

"Constable."

I didn't even hear him approach. The voice came from behind me, his voice was smooth and he spoke with a formal tone. I spun around, mimicking John as I aimed my weapon at this newcomer. He was obviously from the Tower if his fancy clothes were any indication. The sun glinted off his baldhead as he stared calmly at the four of us. He stepped closer, his brown boots crunching under the dirt as the wind ruffled his loose cotton shirt and brown coat.

"You are the strangers who requested an audience, are you not?" He asked us, as per my suspicions, he was definitely from the Tower, was he the Lord Protector though? I doubted it. I watched cautiously as he dipped into his pocket and pulled out a gadget that had me staring at him in disbelief.

"That's us," John said to him smartass like.

"My name is Otho." Otho stepped closer to Teyla as I watched him use the Ancient scanner device that I had seen before back home. I wanted to slap myself; of course there would be other Ancient technology if he came from an Atlantis replica. Otho raised a smaller device as he ran it down from Teyla's head to her middle. "I have the honor to be the Chamberlain to the Lord Protector," he stopped scanning Teyla and moved to Ronon, doing the same thing. "And you would never be allowed in his presence so armed." He moves to scan John. Going down him and then turning to me. I gave him a warning glare as he held the tiny device at the top of my head.

"Well, I guess we'll have to be on our way then," John remarked as Otho finished scanning me. He kept his eyes on his scanner device; I saw a look of astonishment pass over him as his dark eyes cut from me to John.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that," he said. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as Otho takes a step back from us. "Take these two." He gestured to John and I.

"Like hell!" I shout, aiming my weapon at Otho's face as I hear Ronon unsheathe his sword.

"Please, Colonel, don't resist," I heard Eldred plead from behind me as I kept my gaze focused on cue ball in front of me. "The Lord Protector sees all."

"He does, you know," Otho said warningly. "But I suppose you're going to need a demonstration; and here it comes."

From in the distance, I can hear a sort of whirring sound; it was something I had heard before many times. I look skyward, searching the blue expanse for a drone, I spotting it zooming towards us.

I flinch when the drone hits the ground nearby, exploding upon impact as dirt and grass go flying up into the air. Screams from the villagers ring in the air as they cower away, many falling to their knees in fear as I look over at John. I could see the conflicted look on his face.

"Now, please turn over your weapons," Otho said desperately, meeting my gaze for a second. "Some of the people here may not survive the next strike."

John looks down at me for a second, I could see the worried look in his eyes for not only my safely, but for the safety of the villagers. If we went with them, we had no idea what would be waiting for us on the other side, and if we didn't, who knows what would happen to Teyla and Ronon and the villagers.

"Colonel," Eldred pleads once more from behind, hearing him finally tipped John as he lowered his gun, looking forlorn as he motions to Ronon to hand over his weapons, the Satedan looks pissed but complies nonetheless and hands over his weapon.

I hand my weapons over to the soldiers as Otho beckons for us to follow him. I didn't want to go, I glanced over my shoulder to see Teyla and Ronon helping some of the villagers stand and compose themselves as I felt a rough shove. The Constable had pushed me as I rounded on him, squaring up with him.

"I can walk myself," I growled at him. He sneered down at me.

"Then move," he ordered. I had half a mind to floor this prick where he stood but a hand on my upper arm stopped me as John wrenched me to him, forcing me to walk with him.

"Let's not cause anymore incidents, shall we?" He hissed at me as I huffed and let him lead.

* * *

We walked through the forest, a designated path leading our way as Otho walked ahead of us, the Constable and soldiers surrounding us.

"He scanned us for the gene," I muttered under my breath to John. He inclined his head down to me, meeting my gaze, wanting me to explain further.

"He used an Ancient device, one I haven't seen before; and out of our team, you, me and Rodney are the only ones with the gene."

John nodded, understanding as we came to the base of the tower. I craned my neck up to stare at the looming structure. Otho walked up to a large lavish door decorated with red drapes as he waved his hand over the sensor and the doors slid open, allowing us inside.

We followed him in as I gazed around at the interior; it was exactly like Atlantis, except everything was draped in fine silks and fur rugs and tapestries. I felt like I had just stepped into medieval times.

"Please, this way. The Lord Protector wishes to meet you," Otho said to us as John and I shared a look. We were both worried about what was going to happen to us but we didn't voice it. I noticed that once we had gotten inside, the Constable and his soldiers had left us with Otho, it was like we no longer needed to be under guard anymore, it confused me but made me feel better at the fact that if John and I needed to make a quick getaway, we'd be able to with little resistance.

We followed him down familiar hallways, leading us to the control room if I had to guess. The closer we seemed to get, the more noisier and crowded it became. People dressed in fancy clothing appeared with ridiculous hairdos, all staring at John and I as we passed them. They whispered amongst themselves as they watched us pass.

"Don't mind them," Otho said from in front of us, he spoke from over his shoulder. "They're just curious about new visitors, the Lord Protector doesn't normally let outsiders in," he explained as I pouted.

"Can't imagine why," I muttered under my breath as we reached the control room.

The door opened before us as Otho led us in. My jaw went slack as I gazed around the room, which was identical to our own gate room, excluding the drapes and tapestries and a dozen people dressed in medieval clothing. I spotted suits of armor in the corner and candelabras dotted around the room giving it some much-needed light.

"No way," I breathed in amazement as I spotted the familiar Ancient Chair at the back of the room where our Stargate would've been.

"The Lord Protector will be here shortly," Otho said to us as he darted out of the room, no doubt to find our courteous host.

"This is weird," John drawled. He suddenly hit his radio, "This is Sheppard. Anyone reading me?"

" _Colonel, are you alright?"_ Teyla's concerned voice was in my ear.

"I'm fine," John said to her. "Is McKay with you?"

" _I'm here_ ," came Rodney's reply.

"Did you find anything with your scans?" John asked.

" _As a matter of fact, I did. There's definitely an active ZPM but it's barely registering, so it's hard to say whether it's, uh, depleted or just not drawing much power right now,"_ he explained.

"What else?"

" _The really interesting part is that it seems to be coming from underground. Now when I realized that, I started scanning for subterranean structures. The Tower is just the tip of the iceberg, and there is a massive structure buried beneath it. Now it's hard to say without more detailed analysis, but it could very well be comparable in size to Atlantis itself."_

"Doesn't really surprise me," John muttered, gazing around the room again.

"I'm not feeling homesick anymore," I said into the radio as John grimaced but stared at the room in awe.

"We're in the Tower right now, and I got to say…it does kind of look familiar."

The door to our right opened up as John and I both clicked off our radios and diverted our attention to the entourage that entered the room.

An old man led the party, he was a large man with grey hair and grey beard, dressed in fine purple clothes and my first thought that he was the Lord Protector that we had heard so much about, was this man an Ancient though? I highly doubted it. I didn't pay much attention to the people who accompanied him, I watched as the old man wrapped himself up in his cloak and walked to the Chair, sitting down as the Chair immediately lights up when his body hits it. It confirmed that this man definitely had the ATA gene, but I still wasn't convinced that he was an Ancient.

Two people went to either side of him, the first was a young man, with orange hair and an aura around him that screamed 'I'm a pompous jerk'. His face was in a permanent sneer as his steely gaze moved over John and I. I watched his expression change from a scowl to interest, as he looked me up and down, a smirk of approval appearing on his face as I turned my attention to the other person.

She was beautiful, with blonde curly hair pulled up into a beautiful bun, a large flower stuck to the side of her head. She wore a fine golden dress as her dark eyes immediately sought out John as I mentally smacked the girl and tried to telepathically tell her to keep her hands to herself.

"You there," the Lord Protector said, pointing to John and I. "Approach," he ordered as John and I shuffled closer. The Lord Protector glanced over us both.

"Lieutenant Colonel John Shep—"

"I know who you are," he cut John off rudely as we stood before him. "I saw you in the village," he stated, crossing his arms.

"You did?" John questioned. I was curious as to how, from the looks of this man, I doubted he was running any marathons lately.

"I see all that I need to see within my domain," he said ominously as he placed his hands on the jello pads. The chair reclined as a holographic screen suddenly appeared above our heads. My gaze cut to it, wondering why the hell we didn't have something like this on Atlantis when the Wraith were all over the city, it could've been very useful back then. My thoughts cut off when I saw the Lord Protector zoom in on three people in the village, it was Rodney, Teyla and Ronon standing around talking. So that explained how he was able to fire those damn drones then.

"Your friends are concerned about you," the Lord Protector mused.

"Well, um, to be perfectly honest, I'm a little concerned about us too," John said, motioning to the two of us. "I mean, we are, prisoners right?" He asked.

The Lord Protector took his hands off the jello pads as the chair returned to its upright position, the man folded his hands in his lap, "A show of force was necessary for the benefit of the villagers. It keeps them from getting ideas, but for the moment I would prefer it if you thought of yourselves as guests," he said with a cheerful smile.

 _Benefit?_ I thought incredulously.

"Father, I must object," the man on the right said, the jerk. From the way he spoke and the way he was now eyeing John in disapproval, I'd say he was a Grade A asshole. "This man should be punished. He challenged our constables."

"One of _our_ constables?" The Lord Protector snapped at him.

His son bowed out of respect, "Forgive me. One of your constables."

The Lord Protector seemed to dismiss his question anyway as he turned back to John and I with a kind smile.

"Lieutenant Colonel—and, Mia," he used my name which gave me the creeps that he actually knew it. "It would be my pleasure that you both dine with us this evening."

I glance at John from the corner of my eye to see him nod and smile nervously.

* * *

Otho once again led us down familiar hallways until we came to the living quarters, the interior here was still the same as everywhere else as he stopped in front of a door and motioned to John.

"This here is your room, I hope you will find it comfortable," he said with a gracious smile that John returned.

"Thanks, I'm sure we will," he replied. Otho's gaze flicked down to me for a second and then back to John. He was probably figuring it out that John and I were together.

"Forgive me," Otho said with a bow of his head. "I prepared a room for Mia down the hall. It is customary for only married couples of the court to share a bed. Are you married to one another?"

I felt my face flush at that statement as I took a peek at John; he wasn't annoyed, more cautious about us being separated in a situation like this.

"Well no, but can't you make an exception just this once?" John asked him. Otho glanced between us again, weighing the odds.

"Of course…please enjoy your room. Dinner will be in three hours," he said, spinning on his heel and marching off. Once he was out of sight John turned to the door and waved his hand over the sensor, entering the room as I followed closely behind.

He parted the long red drapes apart as I glanced around the room. A large bed was situated in the middle of the room, with fluffy pillows and about a dozen blankets on the bed. The room had red drapes all around the room, with candelabras lighting it up from the corners.

"Well, that was awkward," I stated, shuffling over to the bed and sitting down. John took off his tactical vest and lay it down next to me.

"Yeah, who knew you had to be married to share a room," he drawled as I felt my face flush once again.

"I meant about meeting the Lord Protector," I retorted in a whisper. John faltered as he met my gaze for a second.

"Oh yeah, that," he cleared his throat.

Marriage was something that had never been brought up between us before, I don't know why not; it seemed to be a sore subject for the both of us. Seeing as we were both in the Military and I was still under his command there was no way in hell we would ever get away with a relationship let alone marriage; and to be honest I wasn't sure I could go through with it. Sure I had been engaged to my ex boyfriend Liam who had died but we had never even started planning the wedding, and after he died I never thought I would find anyone that I would want to marry again. Don't get me wrong, I could see myself marrying John in the future, but it just wasn't a good time right now and I don't think he was even ready for that commitment again after his own marriage break down. I was completely happy with how things were at the moment, but having Otho mention it was like a stab in the gut.

"—Mia?"

I snapped out of my thoughts, staring up at John. He was gazing down at me with a concerned look.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine," I replied with a smile.

 _Knock, knock._

John and I turned as we both watched a servant man walk in with a lavish red dress over his arm, "Forgive the intrusion. Master Tavius sends his regards and wishes that Mia will dine in this dress he handpicked for her tonight."

I felt my jaw drop as the servant laid the dress on the bed next to me, bowed curtly and left the room just as quick as he came in. I stood from the bed as I held up the garment in my hands, staring at the fine silk and stitching.

"Ok, for starters, hell no," I said, looking over at John as he tried to hold in his laughter, "And two; who the hell is Tavius?"

"I think he's trying to buy your affection," John muttered with a smirk as I glared at him. The only person I could think that would do this would've been the Lord Protectors son, I didn't know his name and for some reason, I felt like this was something he would do; he seemed like that kind of person.

"Yeah well, peeled onion should've spread the news that I'm not available and I never will be. Especially not to pompous jerks with a hair complex," I spat as I dropped the dress on the bed. I folded my arms over my chest with a huff as I glanced at John. He was having a hard time trying to control his laughter at the name I had given Otho.

"Peeled onion? Seriously?"

"You got a better name for him?" I argued with a glare.

"You're going to get us killed."

"It's not the first time," I said sweetly.

* * *

 **Mia's witty banter get's me everytime xD Hope you all enjoyed guys and I'll see you all next week!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **Guest 64** \- Thanks! Radek is honestly one of my favourite characters, the best scene I think is when he comes back from the children's planet and he;s covered in all the face paint from Critical Mass, Lord that scene was hilarious! xD

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Thank you!

 **Julka212** \- When I wrote the nice view part I was cracking up too, and especially in the end here with Peeled Onion xD wow the wedding sounds intense! I can't believe the bride broke her arm I hope she's ok! You know it never dawned on me to put her in the jumper, I don't really like having characters take other character's places in things and I guess it would've been too much, I mean she can never catch a break this chick! xD I was happy putting her on the sidelines for that chapter! But in this one she is right in the middle, and more hilarity continues next chapter with Tavius and Mia!


	57. Emergence - Chapter 57

**Hi guys! Hope everyone's December is starting off as a good one! Thank you everyone for your feedback as always, I love hearing what you have to say about the story! It's currently 1am here and I'm so tired my eyes are half closed so sorry if they're any spelling mistakes, but enjoy guys!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"I still think you should wear the dress."

"Shut up," I hissed at John as we walked down familiar corridors to the large Gate room/Throne room. Even though I had been requested to wear the red garment to the dinner tonight I was adamant that I was definitely _not_ going to wear it. I wanted nothing to do with these people, and I wasn't about to give in to some prissy boys wishes.

"It was picked especially for you," John pointed out as I glared up at him. He finally surrendered, holding his hands up in defeat as we approached the room. From here I could hear the sounds of clinking glasses, laughter and loud chatter and the cutlery scraping across plates.

We entered the room, Otho greeting us with a charming smile, "Welcome, the Lord Protector has been expecting you," he said to us with a sweep of his arm.

"Well we were invited," I pointed out sarcastically as I felt a sharp nudge in my ribs as I winced from John's blow, he was warning me not to say or do anything stupid, and I agreed, thinking back to the village with the drone demonstration.

"Please, this way," Otho continued as if I hadn't even spoken as he directed us to the large table. I gazed round at everyone quickly. All were dressed impeccably to the nines, with clothes made from fine silks and the women's hair all styled perfectly. The Royal Court consisted of about a dozen men and women, all chatting to each other happily as the food was being served before them.

"Did you not find the dress pleasing?" A voice said to my left as I turned, facing the man who I assumed to be Tavius. I recognized him from before, with his fiery red hair and straight posture. His outfit reminded me of a leprechaun.

"I'm not really a dress sort of person, but thanks anyway." I replied to him. I watched his eyes go from the bottom of my muddy shoes to the top of my head.

"…I see," he drawled. He seemed to recompose himself as he held his arm out, "No matter. I saved you a seat by my side," he said charmingly as I looked over at John with a pleading look; but he was already being ushered to a seat next to the Lord Protectors daughter who I recognized as the pretty little blonde thing from before. I felt my jealously rise as I watched the blonde send John a flirty smile. I turned back to Tavius and tried to smile politely at him, but I'm pretty sure it came out in a grimace.

"How…thoughtful of you," I said as I managed to put one foot in front of the other and headed to the two empty chairs across from John.

Tavius didn't even bother to pull my chair out like a proper gentleman that he was trying to be as I sat down and met John's eyes from across the table. He looked just as uncomfortable as I did as I gazed around at the Court digging into their evening meal. Most were stuffing down food as if they had been starved for days, men ripping chicken off the bone with their teeth and women slurping on wine and using their fingers to shovel food into the large gobs.

"You are quite the creature, aren't you?" I heard Tavius say from my left as I turned my attention to him. I noticed that his arm had suddenly moved to the back of my chair as I held myself away from him, I didn't want one limb from him touching me.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, knitting my brows together.

"There's no one for miles on this planet who looks and acts quite like you," he said, running his tongue over the bottom of his lip. I felt the bile creep up my throat as I swallowed it down and cleared my throat.

"You mean I have a sense of dignity and I can eat with basic manners?" I muttered with a deadpan look as Tavius tossed his head back and laughed boisterously.

"A woman with humor," he said, drinking deeply from his wine glass. "It's hard to come by and not very receptive here."

"I can hardly imagine why," I stated with a groan. I spotted a half filled glass of red wine in front of me as I reached for it, tipping my head back and chugging the entire thing, I really needed it right now.

"I've never heard of anyone called Lieutenant Colonel before," I glanced up from my glass of wine, seeing the blonde smiling flirtatiously at John. He was giving her his attention as he tried his best to look involved in everything happening around him. "What does it mean?"

"It's not his name, you simpleton. It's his rank," Tavius said from beside me as John and the woman looked over at him. The woman bows her head, embarrassed as John and I share looks, both of us wanted to leave this place and never return.

"My apologies."

"That's alright," John said, trying to make her feel better. "Don't usually stand on ceremony anyway. How about you just call me John?"

John suddenly jumped in his chair, a startled look on his face as he stared at the woman on his left. My gaze went to the other woman, who looked like a bird had shat on her head as she waved and looked at him with bedroom eyes. I noticed where her arm was as I felt my face redden in anger.

"Hey!" I yelled, directing my anger at the woman who suddenly snapped her dirty brown eyes to me. "Back off," I said dangerously to her, lowering my voice into a growl as her face paled. The look John was giving me, suggested that he thought I was about to fly across the table and wrestle with pigeon head.

"It's obvious to anyone with eyes to see that you're a military man, which makes me wonder—why is it you question the actions of my father's soldiers? Do you not agree that discipline is necessary?" Tavius asked John. I could still feel the heat of his arm behind my chair as I saw John's eyes flick to it and then to the ginger haired man. If looks could kill…

"I guess I just don't think whipping people is a good motivator," he stated with venom in his tone as a few people around us laughed, including the two siblings.

"The villagers are mindless brutes. They understand nothing else.' Tavius continued.

"Maybe because they've never known anything else," John retorted

"I don't think that any of us would deny that the peasants can be difficult," the Lord Protector said from the head of the table. "But how much worse would it be if they fell victim to the Wraith?" He sneered the evil creatures name. There was a murmur of agreement along the table.

"You protect them with these, uh lights; like the ones that hit the village today?" John asked, subtly prying about the drones.

"Of course," the Lord Protector nodded.

"Where do they come from?" John asked.

"The Lord Protector calls them forth with his mind." Tavius said in a drawl.

I rolled my eyes, _He may be the only person in his family with a brain_ , I thought to myself.

"But from where?" John pried once more. "I mean, they rise up from the ground, but has anybody bothered to go down there and check it out?"

"You mean the catacombs?" The woman said in disgust, turning her nose up.

"Yeah, whatever you call them," John agreed.

"They're dark and filthy—why would anyone want to go down there?" Her statement didn't surprise me in the least but.

A gasping noise drew our attention to the head of the table where the Lord Protector clutched his stomach in pain, gasping for breath. My first instinct was that he was choking on something so I sprang up from my chair.

"My Lord!" Otho cried out, running to his side as the blonde woman ran to his side. They both looked deeply concerned for his wellbeing.

"It's nothing! Leave me be!" The Lord Protector protested as he hunched over. Otho motioned to some servants as they hurried over, grasping his arms.

"Take him to his chambers," he ordered as they usher him out of the room.

I hurry over to Otho, John and the woman whose name I really needed to learn.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Does he have allergies or something?" I asked after him.

"He will be alright," Otho said to us. "It isn't the first time this has happened," he stated ominously as he followed after his master. Leaving us in the room, staring at the closing door.

A large belch caught my attention as John and I stared round at Tavius, he was the only person in the room who hadn't risen to their feet in concern for the old man, there was a small smirk on his face as he picked some food out of his teeth.

The people in the room began to talk in hushed whispers, one could guess what they would probably be talking about as they started to leave the room, it seemed the party was over.

"I'm sure he'll be ok, Mara," John said to the woman. Ah, so her name was Mara, finally.

Mara smiled weakly at him in thanks, "Thank you, John. Please excuse me, I must go and see to my fathers health," she said with a bow of her head as she hurried out of the room.

I turned my attention to the last remaining person as Tavius casually walked over to John and I, he barely looked at John; choosing instead to smile at me.

"It was a pleasure speaking to you tonight, Mia. I shall see you in the morn'," he said with a polite nod to me, ignoring John once again as he spun around on his heel and marched from the room.

Once he was gone I shook my whole body, feeling creeped out just from him smiling and staring at me the entire night, "Ugh, why do I get the creepy one?" I groaned to John.

"You're lucky you didn't get felt up by some hormonal middle aged woman," John grimaced, thinking back on pigeon head as I felt a frown settle on my face.

"I swear, if another woman so much as tries anything on you, I'm going to sit in that chair and—"

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about such things in the open, huh?" John said, clamping a hand over my mouth. He gave me a pointed look as I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. When he was certain that I wasn't about to say anything more blasphemous he removed his hand. "Let's head back to the room," he said, taking the lead as I followed alongside him.

* * *

I was lying on the plush bed, my arms tucked behind my head as I stared up at the draped ceiling. The large chandelier hung above me as I thought about how much it would hurt if it fell on me when I slept. John was rummaging around in his pack at the foot of the bed, he had told me he thought that we should leave, he didn't think it was a good idea for us to be here seeing as this Lord Protector was ill and it seemed that this planet was really beyond our help, these people didn't want our help in the first place so why should we stick around?

"I still think there's something not right with Tavius," I muttered, still staring up at the chandelier. I heard John pause in his rustling.

"What's right with anyone on this planet?"

I sat up, crossing my legs on the bed and placing my hand under my chin, "He didn't even bat an eye at his father practically dying at the table."

"He's a dickhead, we've already established this," John said, glancing over at me.

"I know, I still think there's more going on here."

John dropped his bag on the floor, "You want to stay?" He said in outrage, his eyes wide.

I shrugged my shoulders; "Think about it, why else would Otho bring us here? If we leave we could be condemning this whole society to death, who knows what would happen if the Lord Protector died and Tavius assumed the position, he already said at dinner that he thinks the villagers dirt under his shoe," I paused, mulling over everything that had happened today. "Maybe Otho brought us here to stop it, to help them."

"I highly doubt it, if anything they're curious about why we have the gene, to be honest I'm kind of annoyed that we do at the moment," he grumbled.

"John I'm serious," I said, knitting my brows together. John sighed and met my gaze, he held it for a few seconds before standing up and shuffling over to the top of the bed where I was and sat down gently. "I want to help these people," I said to him.

"I know, but what can we do? Stage a coup?"

If my silence was anything to go by John shook his head.

"We can't stage a coup, Mia."

"Why not?" I exclaimed.

"Because one; it's stupid, and two; it's suicide. We aren't even from this planet!"

"That hasn't stopped us before!" I argued. "Keras' planet! The planet with the little Alcatraz Island! We didn't stop to think about undermining their authority to help them, save them from destroying themselves."

"Those were completely different situations." John said, crossing his arms.

"How so?" I asked, my tone laced with sarcasm.

"Because they didn't have a deadly arsenal full of drones that could kill us all at any second!"

I let out a noise of frustration and fell back onto the pillows; my frown was still present as I glared up at the ceiling.

A noise from the entrance to the room had me on my elbows as John and I watched as Mara came walking into the room. She was dressed beautifully in a blue gown; I clenched my jaw at her sudden appearance.

"I'm sorry, am I disturbing you both?" she asked, looking from John to me.

"Yes." I said.

"No." John said.

I sent him a glare as John looked away and up at Mara who had a charming smile on her face.

"How's your father, Mara?" John asked her.

"He is resting, thank you for your concern," she replied. There was a few seconds of silence between us, I was quietly imagining what Mara would look like without that pretty hair of hers…

"Uh, look, maybe it's best if Mia and I left, come back another day," he said, gesturing to me as I was brought out of my day dreaming to pay attention.

"No you can't leave!" Mara exclaimed, holding her hands up, trying to block him even though he was still sitting on the bed with me. "There is a matter of great importance my father wishes to discuss with you; perhaps in the morning?

"What could he possibly want with us?" I asked, sitting up properly.

"He wishes to discuss the succession of our line," she said, instantly brightening up once more. John and I shared a confused look.

"What does that mean about us?" John asked slowly.

"Otho revealed that the two of you are not bound by marriage. My father has said that if we marry," she gestured to John, "Then the succession will fall to me," she said with a grin as I felt my jaw drop. I saw John's body lock up as his eyes almost bugged out of his head.

"Excuse me?" I said, aghast.

"Now, let's just hold up for a second," John said, standing up and holding his hands out. Mara's smile dropped.

"You are not pleased with the situation," Mara stated. I wanted to throttle the little wench for even bringing this up, for even talking to her father about this. I wanted to drag John out of this room by his ear and away from this planet for good, to hell with helping them! These people were beyond help!

"Well, it's not that…" John muttered as I rounded on him, my eyes blazing.

"John!" I yelled.

"What I mean is!" He corrected, sending me an apologetic look.

"You are worried that your friend will be left out?" Mara interrupted as I looked over at her, I wanted to scream that I wasn't John's _friend_ but someone he actually loved.

"No, it's not that, what I'm trying to say is—"

"You don't have to worry, Mia has already accepted Tavius' marriage proposal."

There was a beat of silence.

" _What!_ " I screeched.

Mara didn't bat an eye at my shrill voice, "You accepted his gift, among our society it is customary for the man to offer a lavish gift for the woman, if she accepts and doesn't return the gift then the two are betrothed."

My gaze was drawn to the dress that was still sitting on the bed from where I had left it earlier. I then looked at John, he was just as bewildered as I was, we then looked to Mara, who was standing there with a smile on her face.

 _Someone shoot me…_ I thought sourly.

* * *

In the morning John and I paid a little visit to our friend, Peeled Onion.

Otho was sitting at his desk, reading some large, dusty scroll with a frown on his face. John and I entered the room.

"We need to talk," John said gruffly. Otho looked up from the scroll, the surprise on his face from seeing us standing here.

"Colonel Sheppard, Mia. Come in, please."

John spared me a look as I followed him into the room; I glanced around quickly. The room was covered in old scrolls, filling the room up. His desk was large and that in itself was scatted with paper as he set it down and gave us his full attention.

"It seems that…certain people around here have somehow gotten the wrong idea about us," John pointed to me. Otho looks at us like he had absolutely no idea what was going on, it made me mad, and everyone knew what I was like when I was mad.

"Mara came to see us last night," John said. Otho nodded, understanding now.

"You must forgive—"

"Let's cut the shit," I interrupted, moving forward and slamming my hands down on the table forcefully. "We came here to help you people, not be sold off to your royal family like slaves. I don't know what kind of games you people like to play here, but where I come from, if someone doesn't want to marry someone, they don't have to; and _especially_ if they weren't told about it in the first place."

I felt John's hand on my shoulder, silently telling me to calm down and back off but I shook him off. "If you think for one second that John and I would agree to any of this, you are sadly mistaken."

I continued to hold Otho's gaze as he sighed and nodded his head in understanding, "I apologise for the forwardness of Tavius and Mara. I had no idea Tavius sent the gift until after the dinner, but by then it was already too late. Mara doesn't have much time left," he said, looking over at John; causing him to frown in confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?" John asked.

"I have many duties here in the Tower," Otho said as he slowly rose from his chair. "The most important of which is royal genealogist. These scrolls record the bloodlines of the Lord Protector's family going back twenty generation." I found myself looking around the room once again, thinking about how boring it sounded to be him. "It's my duty to study them in order to determine the best possible match for every royal house so that we may maintain the integrity of those bloodlines. This is necessary because only one of the Royal blood can control the Throne Chair, which in turn controls the weapon that protects us from the Wraith. But I suspect you already know this," Otho said, looking between us as I stepped back from the desk. I suddenly got a bad feeling from this.

"Most people when they see the Throne Chair activated for the first time react as though they've seen some kind of magic," Otho approached us as I backed up until I felt John's chest against my back. "But you both, neither of you batted an eye. What's more, you both have in your blood the very gene for which our Royal family has been so selectively bred all these generations." Otho walked back to his table and held up the scanner that I remember seeing from yesterday, the one I had told John about; and it seems I was right after all; Otho wanted us from the beginning because of our ATA gene.

"I scanned you shortly after we met, remember?"

"Right…" John said hesitantly.

"Colonel, you must understand how important this is to us," Otho pleaded. "Over the centuries, despite our best efforts, the bloodlines have deteriorated. The ability of each new Lord Protector to control the Throne Chair—it is no longer a certainty."

And so they wanted to use John and I…great.

"Well then," John said, a sneer on his face. "Maybe it's time to start thinking about a new system of government."

"You have observed the inequalities of our society and you disapprove. I can hardly blame you."

"Well, you didn't seem to have much of a problem with that in the village," John remarked bitterly.

"I must maintain the image of authority in front of the villagers," Otho defended himself. "It is my duty. But believe me, between the three of us, you are in a better position to change things. The gene in both you and Mia is stronger than it has been in any recorded member of the Royal family for three hundred years."

John scoffed from behind me as I glanced up at him, he had a look of revelation on his face, "You sent Mara to us," he said.

"I didn't have to," Otho said. I was disgusted at the fact that these people thought that it was ok for them to try and persuade us into being with them. It was all one big ploy for power. "Mara understands the situation. Right now Tavius is next in line, but the possibility that his sister might one day bear children with superior genetic make-up to him or his progeny, that will always be a threat."

"So what about me?" I asked.

"Tavius worked without my knowledge," Otho said to me. "He sees you as an asset to his claim. If he marries you and you bear his children, he will continue to be the next in line. It all depends on the timing."

"So the first one to get knocked up wins, great!" I exclaimed. I felt John's hand on my shoulder once more. "Why do I get stuck with the batshit crazy one?" I muttered, holding my face in my hands.

"Look, there's time to help you guys here," John said to Otho, while still comforting me with his hand on my shoulder.

"The Lord Protectors condition grows worse everyday," Otho explained.

"We might be able to help with that," John said. I brought my face away from my hands as I looked up at him, wondering what he could possibly do to help this shitty situation.

* * *

"Welcome to hell."

Carson gave me a less then pleased look as I walked into the room; he had already finished his blood analysis of the Lord Protector. I had passed John and Otho in the hallway, they were heading somewhere private to talk about some important matter or something.

"How are you doin', love?" Carson asked as I gave him a dramatic eye roll.

"Oh, you know, I'm being pawned off to some snobbish Royal because I accidently accepted a marriage proposal without my knowing. We could be killed at any second by crazy lunatics who probably want us dead, but that's all the usual for us, isn't it?" I said mockingly as Carson seemed to ignore me and look at his scans and microscope.

"Hmm, I'd say so," Carson agreed as I sighed in annoyance.

"You aren't helping," I muttered, sitting at a nearby chair. Carson looked over his shoulder at me.

"I'm sure the Colonel will figure something out, in the meantime why don't you help me with this?" He offered as I perked up.

"Really?"

"Of course, if it'll stop your whining," he uttered with a sly smirk as I gave him a blank look.

"Very funny, and I don't whine, much…"

"Of course," Carson said with a side-glance.

Carson had been instructing me on what to look for on the slides while he did something with the blood in a machine that whirled around a lot and made some noises. I was getting bored at looking at the old mans blood cells when Carson made a noise of surprise.

"Dear God!" He cried out in shock, making me jump in the chair and look over at him.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"We have to find Colonel Sheppard right now," he said, hopping off his chair and giving me a frantic look.

"Carson?" I called after him as he was running out of the room already, "Carson, wait!" I yelled as I hurried after him.

Carson didn't speak when I caught up to him; the only thing he said was that I would have to wait until we found John. From the look on his face and the tone of his voice, I guessed that Carson had found out why the Lord Protector was sick, and it wasn't good, I could only imagine what he had found.

We found John in the Chair room, he was standing up on the balcony, deep in thought and staring down at the people below, chatting to each other, not a care in the world. Carson and I walk up to him, I move to the other side of John and lean against the railing.

"Colonel Sheppard," Carson says in barely a whisper. "I've completed my examination of the Lord Protector, and I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for him. He's dying." Carson said as I saw John press his lips into a firm line in disappointment.

"How much time does he have?" John asked, being just as quiet as Carson.

"It could happen any day now, but there's something else. The reason he's dying is because he's been poisoned."

"What?" John exclaimed, still keeping his voice down.

"Aye, my guess it's been done slowly over the last couple of months, probably in his food. Any idea who'd like to see him dead?" Carson asked.

Well, there was one person already at the top of my list, a little ginger haired man.

"Yeah, I have a theory," John agreed. I followed his gaze down in the room as saw him staring at Tavius with a deep frown. The man in question met John's gaze, and then my own, giving me a brief smile and a bow of his head as he turned away, resuming the conversation with the person closest to him.

"We have to tell Otho," I muttered to them both. John and Carson both looked over at me, "He's probably the only person in this stupid place that can do anything to help; and he has to know that Tavius is killing his father." I lowered my voice at the end, lest I be overheard and stoned to death.

"I agree," Carson said with a nod. John led the way, ushering me along with him.

As we were making our way to Otho's room our radios crackled in our ears.

" _Colonel Sheppard?"_ I heard Teyla speak as the three of us stopped walking and waited.

"Go ahead," John said to her.

" _We have a problem in the village. There has been an…altercation,"_ Teyla said grimly. John and I shared a look.

"What does that mean?" John asked her as we waited for a reply.

" _Ronon killed one of the constables who was harassing a villager."_

"Oh shit," I groaned, running a hand down my face. John cursed loudly as Carson looked like he was about to be sick. John looked like he wanted to have a few words with Ronon but thought against it, we had a job to do right now, but we couldn't let Teyla, Ronon and Rodney die.

"Sit tight, try and keep everything under wraps, we're trying our best here and hopefully this will be over soon," John said to her.

" _Understood,"_ came her timid reply as the radio went silent.

* * *

So…as it turns out; Otho is a _fucking dickhead_.

The prick double-crossed us. We had told him about Tavius poisoning his father but the news had come too late, the Lord Protector had died and apparently Tavius was arrested for the murder of his father—and now Otho was going to be the Lord Protector. I had been captured, along with John and Carson as we were held at knifepoint to a set of iron doors straight out of a dungeon as a soldier opened up the door and shoved us in. Carson went sprawling onto the floor, I was shoved hard and ended up tripping over my own feet and landed on top of Carson while John so elegantly caught his footing.

I spun around and glared at Otho as he stood in the doorway with a satisfied smirk on his face. I suddenly see another person in the room with us and I'm not surprised at all to see Tavius lounging on a chair, his hand folded behind his head.

"Wait outside," Otho orders his men. I reach out for Carson as I help him stand with me as I send a glare to Otho and Tavius, in that order.

"I'll have your head for this, Chamberlain," Tavius says, nonchalantly.

"You are in no position to make threats," Otho sneers at the man.

Tavius scoffs, "Is it really necessary to insult me further by imprisoning me with these people," he sends a sneer to John and Carson, leaving me out. One part of me was flattered that Tavius still lusted over me; another part was still creeped out by him.

"We're not the ones who committed murder," Carson said vehemently.

Tavius sits up, "True," he says, standing up from the plush lounge and turning to Otho, "There is only one murderer in this room. Isn't that right, Otho?"

I look from Tavius to Otho, who is standing with a smirk on his face, I was confused, I thought Tavius was the one who killed his father?

"Oh, let me guess. He told you I did it," Tavius said with a frown. "Do I look like the sort of person who knows anything about poisons and chemicals?" Tavius motioned to his clothes. It all finally started to sink in as I heard Carson make a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. "Otho, on the other hand, is always making elaborate studies of things—topics you and I might find boring, but which sometimes can turn out to be quite useful."

"Are you saying that he's the one that poisoned the Lord Protector?" Carson asked.

"I had no choice," Otho finally spoke. "I offered to guarantee him the succession. In return, he would spare Mara's life."

Tavius slapped his hands together, a smile on his face, "Ah, but you're leaving out the best part. Once I assumed the throne, Mara was to be given to Otho as his wife. All she had to do was bat her eyes at him a couple of times, and the fool was hooked."

A hard _slap_ was heard as I winced, seeing Otho hit the punk Tavius. Tavius didn't seem too fazed by it but I was still reeling about everything happening here, and also, what the hell was with these people and marriages!

I guess blood and lineage was everything to them, not that it made our situation any better, I just really wanted to get out of here with all my limbs intact and hopefully not married to some pompous jerk.

"It's true we were to be married," Otho said simply, like he hadn't just struck a grown man across the face.

It was in the next second that I knew I was screwed.

Otho turned to me, and I realized that I was standing far away from John and Carson; I was closer to Tavius then them.

"But I believe I have found something of far greater use to me."

I didn't have any time to react. Otho reached for me, grasping my arm and throwing me into the grasp of his two soldiers that followed him in.

"Mia!" Carson yelled.

"What the hell are you doing?" John bellowed, furious. I struggled against the soldiers, trying to pull my arms away from them. I kicked against their legs but it didn't seem to faze them, they just allowed me to struggle, but with their grips, I wasn't getting away from them anytime soon.

"Her gene is the most potent then any woman here on this planet," Otho said as he faced me. I saw why John hadn't tried to attack the soldiers or Otho yet, in his hand was an extremely sharp knife that he held out to me. He pointed it at my neck as I met John's gaze. "It would be idiotic of me to not use her, as of now, Mia will become the wife of the new Lord Protector," Otho said as he tossed a look over his shoulder at John who looked murderous and lunged for Otho. Carson grabbed his arm, stopping him from doing anything stupid and getting himself killed, or me.

With a nod to his soldiers, they dragged me out of the room, not before I managed to send John a reassuring look telling him that I'd be ok. I knew that if the chance arose, I'd be able to take these two brutes and get the hell out of here.

Otho strode in front of me, my arms were burning from the soldiers' tight grip on my arms, I recognized where we were heading, and it was the Throne Room. The large door came into view as Otho walked into the room, parting the way in the crowd as the women and men all gasped in shock when they saw him approaching the Chair. I was about to make my move to get away when one of the soldiers pulled out another knife and held it to my neck, I could feel the metal pressing against my skin. I sighed in annoyance, knowing it would be a lot harder to get away now.

Otho walked to the chair, the whisperings became louder as the whole room was focused on the bald headed man as he sat down in the chair, I watched the platform light up as the chair reclined.

"Those fools. They actually think they can stand against me," Otho muttered darkly. I felt my stomach drop as I realized that he was going to destroy the village.

Teyla! Ronon! Rodney!

I fought against the soldier holding me, in return I felt the blade dig deeper into my neck, I felt the blood trickle down my neck and soak into my shirt.

All around I could hear the drones powering up outside and preparing to fly away. Otho was grinning like a Cheshire cat in the Chair, he was actually relishing in this, the sick bastard.

The room starts to shake, I didn't have time to worry about that, all I knew was that I had to stop Otho otherwise he was about to kill my friends, I had to stop him and I was the only one who could right now!

With the shaking room drawing attention away from me, the soldiers' grip slackened on my arms and neck. As soon as I felt the blade leave my skin I brought my leg up and stomped down hard on the soldiers foot that was holding the knife. He yelled in pain, wincing as I managed to wrench my arms out of their grips.

The palm of my hand went for the soldiers nose as he went sprawling onto the ground, I turned to the other, kicking his legs out from under him and pouncing on him, grabbing his head in my hands and smacking it against the marble flooring, only hard enough to knock him out and not kill him.

I sprung up, running over to the platform, intending to haul Otho off it to stop the drones. As I approached him, the Chair suddenly died, coming back up to an upright position as Otho's eyes shoot open as he stares at me in shock.

Oh no, was I too late? Had he destroyed the village?

"What did you do?" Otho demanded off me as he rose up from the chair. I stood there in confusion, what the hell was going on?

Footsteps from behind had me looking over my shoulder, relieved to see John and Carson enter the room, Mara followed behind and I assumed I had her to thank for getting them out and for the Chair shutting down.

"You!" Otho yelled, pointing at John. "This is your doing! Seize them!" Otho ordered his guards. I jumped away from Otho and prepared to fight off the guards that had just entered the room.

"You're only Lord Protector if you can control the Chair," John pointed out to the room. "You said it yourself."

I see Otho's face pale as he looks back at the chair in resentment.

"It's over," John says to him. John turns and faces the room, speaking to all the people, "You don't have to bow down to this man, or Tavius, or anyone else."

"John!" Mara screeches a warning as I see what's happened. Otho pulled out his knife from before, lunging for John. Seeing as Otho was still near me I jumped over to him; I kicked the back of his legs as he stumbled to the floor. What I didn't expect was Otho to use his elbow and jab it right into my stomach. I felt the wind get knocked out of me as I gasp for breath; Otho had hit right in my solar plexus.

I was only able to watch from my crouched position on the floor as John and Otho fought over the knife, John, being far superior in defense and hand-to-hand then a simple genealogist managed to disarm him, slicing his palm in the process.

Otho cries out, stumbling back and holding his palm, his eyes wide and shaking.

"Tavius was right about one thing," Otho said with a sad smile. "I do have a fair knowledge…of—poisons."

Otho's knees buckle as he drops to the floor, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. I hear the knife clatter to the ground as suddenly John is in front of me, Carson close behind.

"Are you ok?" John asked, cradling me in his arms and pulling me into a standing position as I tried to get my breath back. I nodded to him as Carson came over.

"That looked like it hurt," he said with a smirk as I sent him a glare. I took a deep breath and felt my insides return to normal.

"Just my pride," I said shakily as Carson chuckled. "Can we please go home now?"

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed my rendition of The Tower, one of my favourite episodes! We're coming up on the finale soon with Michael making his appearance and some very exciting things happening with all of that, get excited everyone!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Haha thanks you, yep I was cracking up at the dress parts as well. Maybe we'll see her in another dress one day, I wonder what it'll be for though? ;)

 **teekee hut** \- That's ok, thank you! Yeah he should've but he's an idiot and a dense person, he obviously didn't think the repercussions would've been this bad xD He's probably wishing he did too now!

 **Julka212** \- It was too good an opportunity to pass up with them! I love making things awkward between them about sensitive subjects, ah the drama! But it made me giggle so much writing all of these scenes. I knew from the very beginning that I wanted Mia to give him a nickname and it took me a while before finding one that I settled on, and that was peeled onion, i mean seriously I couldnt do better then that! xD I hope I did the conversations in this chapter justice and hoped they made you laugh. I still giggle about her and Tavius talking over dinner.

 **GoldenGod48** \- Yep I've been planning it out for a long time. I do have it all figured out when the relationship will get outed and EVERYONE will know, I will tell you that it happens in season 3 and a little bit at the end of season 2! I'm not giving away much but I know that you'll all be pleasantly surprised with how I do it!

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you! I hope you enjoyed it is also one of my favourites too!

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Yes same here! I've always loved the plot and everything with this episode! Hope you enjoyed it!


	58. Emergence - Chapter 58

**Hey guys, I'm pretty ill at the moment, I'm only moving from my bed to post this so I wont be replying to any reviews but I will next time. It hasn't been proof read either so any mistakes please forgive me.**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

I circled Ronon in front of me, my hands held up in a defensive position as he lunged for me. I blocked a fist coming from the left, then the right. I gripped his wrists as I kicked him in the stomach, stumbling him as he recovered immediately and ran for me again. I ducked out of the way, sidestepping to the left as his leg shot out, going for my side as I brought up my arms to block the kick. I still winced from the force of it as out of nowhere I saw his hand heading straight for my head, I managed to turn my body but he still grazed me on the cheek.

I didn't have time to catch my breath as Ronon advanced again, putting me on the defensive as I tried to block all of his punches, I could feel my limbs aching from his punches and kicks, knowing that my skin was going to bruise. I jumped back, putting space between us but Ronon just kept on coming, he was like a bull, he ran wherever you ran.

As I ducked a nasty looking kick I spun on my knees, putting my back to him as I bent my elbow and jabbed it right into his solar plexus. I heard him grunt in pain as I jumped up, I readied my fist as I swung back and then put all my force into it. My punch neared his face until suddenly my hand was caught in his grip, I gasped in shock when I saw him smirk, his other hand held onto my arm as I was suddenly twisted painfully and then sailing over his body, flipped over and slammed onto the mat. The oxygen left my lungs as I saw his hand coming down to my head, I rolled over, swinging my leg out as I caught him, making him fall to the floor. I pounced on his body, throwing my weight onto him, pulling my arm back and surprisingly managing to sock him in the face. It was short lived as I felt his foot kick me in the stomach as I went flying off him, hitting the mat again. I didn't have a chance to catch a break as I felt Ronon sit on my stomach; his knees pinned down my arms. His fist stopped an inch from my nose as I growled in frustration as he smirked down at me.

"You lose."

"I always lose," I muttered sourly. The only satisfaction I had was that his lip was split and bleeding from the punch I had actually managed to land on him. It was the first time I had managed to do that. I could feel my own cheek aching from the hit he had given me and I knew that John wasn't going to be happy. He hated it when Ronon and I sparred as neither of us knew how to take it slow and not land hurtful blows on each other. Ronon was the best person for me to fight, most of the marines here stayed away from me, even thought Ronon had scared all of them away from himself, I was still holding my reputation of being the best female fighter on this base. Ronon was really the only one who was able to challenge me and make me a better fighter, if today had already proved that by me managing to lay that punch on him for the first time.

Ronon released my arms, hopping off me as he extended his hand down for me as I grasped it as he pulled me up. My head spun for a second from vertigo as Ronon headed over to his towel and rubbed the sweat off his face, I collected my own and did the same, wincing when I rubbed over my sore cheek.

The door opened as I glanced over my shoulder, feeling dread as I saw John walk in. He looked at Ronon first, seeing his bloody lip and then his hazel eyes moved over to me, I guessed that my cheek might've been red and swelling already but the look John gave me affirmed that.

"I thought you two weren't going to go for the faces anymore?" John asked with a sigh.

Ronon shrugged his shoulders, wiping the blood off his lip with the back of his hand, "She hit first."

John snapped his gaze over to me, his eyes narrowed as I pressed my lips into a line and tried not to smile.

"It was an accident?" I said sweetly.

"Beckett would have a heart attack if he saw you two fighting again, remember what happened last time?" John said with a pointed look to me.

I looked away bashfully, remembering the concussion I had gotten from our last sparring session. I had also managed to dislocate Ronon's arm in that one too.

I glanced over at Ronon; the Satedan also met my gaze as I smirked as he chuckled.

"Get cleaned up, we've got a mission in an hour," John said with a sigh to us as he left the room.

* * *

"You're saying that you've never watched an MMA fight ever?" I asked Rodney, shocked as I glared at me from his seat behind me.

"Yes, I don't spend my time watching TV to loose brain cells," he snapped at me as I chuckled and turned back around.

"What's a…TV?" Ronon asked from behind me. I was going to reply when John beat me to it, he was flying the Jumper through the Cohall system; he turned in his seat slightly.

"It's like a big box with a screen, things are playing on it like movies—and fights. People watch it for entertainment for a few hours."

I saw Ronon's face crinkle up, he still didn't seem to understand wholly, "So people just sit and watch this box for hours at a time?"

"Yeah, some do," John, agreed.

"Is it that engaging?" Teyla asked from directly behind me. Teyla knew about the TV's, John had forced her to watch the re-runs of his football on some of the Atlantis screens, but she didn't know about how the people on Earth spent their time.

"Depends what's on it," John said with a shrug. "There are lots of programs on dozens of channels, every day, all day."

"Including MMA, which is why I joined the kickboxing club at my high school," I said with a grin.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Rodney drawled to me as I laughed loudly. He cleared his throat and continued. "Most of the programs are fictional representations of ridiculously attractive people in absurd situations."

"We're always being caught in absurd situations," I mused. "I don't see a camera crew following us around, well, maybe not Rodney…"

"Funny," The scientist glared at me as I stuck my tongue out at him childishly.

"There are also educational programs," John finished for them. "All sorts of documentaries. Not many people watch them, but well they're on."

"And that's what everybody on your planet does for entertainment? Watch a box?" Ronon sounded extremely disgusted at the fact as I tried to hide my laughter.

"Not everyone," Rodney pointed out. "Although I will confess to the occasional half hour of jeopardy."

"Jeopardy?" Ronon asked, not familiar with the show for obvious reasons.

"It's the name of the show 'Jeopardy'." Rodney clarified.

"Sounds dangerous." Ronon stated. I bit my lip in mirth, trying to hold in the laughter as I thought about Ronon's reaction if I told him what Jeopardy was actually about.

"Double Jeopardy—that's twice as dangerous," John muttered, holding back his smile.

He met my gaze for a second, giving me a wink as I smirked, knowing full well that we were all having so much teasing Ronon and Rodney about the shows.

Suddenly a proximity alert lit up on the jumper window, my eyes scanned over it and I hear Rodney frantically typing away at his keyboard.

"It's a proximity alarm. Something's out there," John said, squinting his eyes at the screen as he tried to see whatever the jumpers sensors had picked up.

"A ship?" Ronon asked.

"No. There are two of them. There's another one in a lower orbit."

"It's too small to be a ship," I stated.

"What are they then?" Rodney asked.

"I don't know," John said, moving the jumper in closer as I finally managed to spot what was out there. "But big enough to hold a person."

"Maybe it's a coffin," Ronon said morbidly.

"Perhaps jettisoned from a ship?" Teyla added in.

"Life pods more like," I said, glancing at her and John.

"Mia's right," Rodney said, causing pride to well in my chest at being right, but also dread at the thought of someone being in those pods. "I'm reading life signs coming from inside both of them. Whoever's in there, they're still alive."

"It looks like we'll be able to fit one of them inside the cargo hold," John said as he flew us right up to the pod. I stared out at the silver pod, it was floating in the space, with a cloudy canopy. John maneuvered the jumper until the pod was behind us, he motioned for me to close the cargo bay doors as I pressed the button and waited for them to close. Once they were sealed I pressed the button for the reach hatch to open; the jumper shook from the door opening as John pulled back on the controls, easing the jumper back slowly.

After a few seconds Rodney's laptop beeped, "Ok it's in." He said to us. I shut the cargo bay door as John made the jumper go on autopilot as we gathered at the rear hatch doors. Rodney was the one who opened them as I peered around Teyla's shoulder to see the beat up life pod sitting in our cargo hold.

Rodney and John moved towards it first, the former holding out a scanner as he ran it over the pod and looked down at his tablet.

"There's definitely a person in there, I'm picking up ECG readings," Rodney said. John ran his hand over the side of the pod.

"Should we open her up?" He asked, glancing up at the scientist.

Rodney shook his head, "The life signs readings are faint, we need to get back to Atlantis and have Beckett standing by. If we want to figure out who's in there we've got to be careful with this." He explained. John nodded, walking back into the cockpit as he took his seat once more.

"Alright, let's head back. I'll send Lorne out to come get the other one," he said as I retook my seat next to him as John flew us towards the Stargate.

* * *

Rodney had half his body under the pod, attaching cables to the power box as I sat back with my legs crossed, holding the tablet in my hands and calling out the readings to him.

"So it's definitely a life pod?" Carson asked from above me as I nodded.

"From what we've figured out yes, they probably launched them after their ship came under fire." I said to Carson.

"It's like a Cryostasis, just without the freezing like we found with the alternate reality Weir," Rodney grunted from under the pod.

"As per the ECG readings that we have," I said, turning the tablet for Carson to look at.

"I wonder how long she's been out there for?" Carson muttered, more to himself then to us.

"Who knows?" Rodney answered for him.

"My guess is a pretty long time," I sighed. I heard Rodney scoff.

"And why is that?"

"Because," I said pointedly, "The design of the pod is something we haven't come across before, and we've been to a lot of planets in this Galaxy. If this civilization were able to actually create ships and life pods then they would've been the most advanced society that we have come across other then the Ancients; the Wraith probably took care of them a long time ago," I finished.

Rodney made a noise of approval in the back of his throat.

"Plus," I said with a smile. "The power box here actually tells me how long the life support has been running."

Rodney rolled his eyes at me as Carson gave a hearty laugh, "How long then?"

I switched to the correct screen for Carson to see as I showed him; he let out a surprised gasp as Rodney tried to pull the tablet from my hands.

"Let me see then," he grumbled as I pulled the tablet out of his reach.

"Ah-ah, you have to guess, McKay!"

"Really? How old are you, twelve?" He asked with a deadpan look.

"Just because _you_ didn't see it," I said, sticking out my tongue at him.

"Fine, I didn't want to know anyway," he replied bitterly as he crouched under the pod again. I knew it was only going to be a matter of minutes before he caved and tried to see how long the pod had in fact been in space for.

"God, you two are like children," John sighed as he entered the room.

"Afternoon, Colonel," Carson greeted cheerfully as I grinned up at him as he peered over the pod.

"Have they been like this the entire time?" John asked the good Doctor, motioned from Rodney to me.

Carson let out a hefty sigh, "Unfortunately, I cannae imagine how you deal with the both of them on missions."

"It's not a far cry from babysitting," John muttered.

"Hey!" Rodney and I both cried out in annoyance.

Carson and John continued conversing for a few more minutes, Carson filling in John on what we've learned about the pod so far, once Rodney and I were ready for it to be opened Carson radioed his medical team and also Elizabeth, she had requested to be here for when we opened her up.

I stood to the side of the room, looking over the ECG readings and monitoring the life signs as Rodney continued to hook up the laptop to manually open up the pod. Carson had brought out his scanner and was currently running it up and down the pod to have a final check of the life signs to make sure that whatever we were about to open up wasn't infected or carrying a deadly pathogen that could kill us all.

"Doctor Weir," Carson greets as I look over my shoulder. Elizabeth had indeed entered the room, and to my surprise Caldwell followed her in. I was shocked to see him at the base; I thought the Daedalus was doing repairs. "Oh! Colonel Caldwell, welcome back!"

"Thank you, Doctor," Caldwell nodded his thanks. His attention then turned to John who walked up to the pair. "Colonel. What have we got?" He asked.

"We think it's a life pod of some kind," John explained. I wanted to blurt out that we didn't think it was, but we knew that it was one but I kept my mouth shut.

"It appears to be designed solely for the purpose of maintaining a single human life in stasis. This one's a female," Carson told them.

John placed his hands on his hips, "There's another one in a decaying orbit but we could only fit one inside the jumper."

"I've already sent Lorne in jumper six to recover the second pod. Ronon and Teyla went along to help him locate it," Elizabeth added in.

"Ok, I'm ready!" Rodney sudden calls out as he pops up from underneath the pod. The tablet is in his grip, his gaze spots Caldwell standing in the room, obviously not hearing Caldwell voice as he looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Hey."

"Hello, Doctor," Caldwell replies with a smile. It was obvious to everyone in the room that Rodney didn't hide his nervousness and Caldwell could sense the tension from the scientist. Rodney quickly looks down at the tablet, pressing down on the screen as the pod slides open. I move in closer to John to get a look at the person in the pod.

She's an elderly woman, with stark white hair and a wrinkled face, the uniform that she was garbed in reminded me a lot of what the Air Force wore. Carson held the scanner over her face as he spoke aloud, "She's alive, barely. It appears we found her very near the end. All the major organs are shutting down."

"How long was she out there?" Elizabeth asked.

Carson glanced over at me and then back to Elizabeth, "Well, it's not definite…"

"So she could be an Ancient?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.

"The pod design makes me doubt that," Rodney drawled.

Elizabeth pouted slightly, "It's a shame that she can't speak with us," she said sadly, moving closer to the open end. "Just imagine what she could tell us about her people and about what happened to her." Elizabeth peered down at the woman, a gentle smile on her face.

A whirring noise and a white light suddenly shot out from the head of the pod, enveloping Elizabeth's face, her eyes shut and her body goes limp. John and Caldwell both manage to catch her as she fell.

"Elizabeth!" Rodney exclaims in worry.

"Medical team to lab three, stat!" Carson yells into his radio as the Doctor rushes over to them.

I hover above, not wanting to crowd but also concerned about Elizabeth.

"She's breathing," Carson said as he pressed his fingers to her neck, feeling for a pulse.

"What the hell was that?" Caldwell demanded as the Colonel looked up at Rodney and me. I turned my gaze to the scientist.

"I have no idea, there was nothing in the pods schematics that said anything like this would happen when we opened it up!" Rodney defended, reading over the diagnostics again.

I heard an alarm coming from the computer that was hooked up to the pod's life signs. I turned, briskly walking over to it with a frown on my face. My eyes quickly scanned over the reading. I felt my eyes widen in shock as I turned back around.

"Carson, she's dead!" I cried, making all the men in the room jump and look at Elizabeth in worry. "No! The woman!" I corrected, pointing to the old lady in the pod. Carson moved over to the pod, feeling for a pulse and using the scanner once again.

"Dear God, she's right. I'm not picking up any life signs from her."

"Then what the hell does that mean for Elizabeth?" John all but yelled.

The medical team came running in with a stretcher, Carson immediately ran over to them as they began to lift Elizabeth onto the stretched and hook her up to the portable machine as they wheeled her out of the lab. The rest of us followed close behind.

* * *

We stood by Elizabeth's bed; my arms were crossed tightly under my chest, my bottom lip caught between my teeth as I continued to worry about Elizabeth's wellbeing.

"What do you think the pod did to her?" John asked me quietly. He was stood next to me at the foot of Elizabeth's bed.

"I don't know," I said truthfully. I met his intense gaze as he gave me a sad look. Rodney then came bounding up to us with heavy footsteps.

"This is not my fault," he said defensively, pointing at her.

"We were all there, relax." John told him.

A groan from the bed had me on alert as Carson looked round at us all, "She's coming to."

Elizabeth's eyes open, and I've never been happier to see her awake and alert. She pushes herself up into a sitting position.

"You ok?" John asks her hesitantly.

"Doctor Weir is fine," Elizabeth said with a smile. Her tone of voice had changed; she spoke with more formality, which was really different.

"Doctor Weir doesn't talk about herself in the third person," John says suspiciously.

"She was simply overcome by the effects of the imprinting," Elizabeth said. I frowned, uh, what was going on?

"Security team to the infirmary," Caldwell ordered in his radio.

"That's not necessary, Colonel…Caldwell," Elizabeth said with a nod to the Colonel. "She is merely harboring my consciousness."

"Oh," Rodney groans, "Here we go again."

"For crap sake," I mutter, slapping my forehead.

"And you are?" John asks pointedly.

Elizabeth sits taller, "I am Phebus. We are a race of explorers. On our journey home our vessel was attacked," Phebus explained.

"By the Wraith?" Caldwell asked.

"Yes," Phebus nods to him. "We were forced to abandon ship and launch our life pods. If this has happened to me, then I've been adrift for some time and the pod has determined my body is beyond resuscitation."

Carson lay a hand on her shoulder gently, "You're quite correct."

Phebus looked away sadly, "Then for all intents and purposes I am already dead."

"I'm sorry," Carson apologises. I watch on with a deep sadness in my gut. How awful for her, to wake up and find out that your race is gone, the people you once knew and that you were dead, only to be confined to an unknown body.

"So am I."

"Yeah yeah yeah, we're all very sorry. Where's Elizabeth?" John asked, insensitively. I wanted to scold him for being rude but I realized that I wanted to know the answer to that question also.

"She is here also," Phebus said.

"And I suppose you'd like us to take your word for that?" Caldwell scoffs at her. Phebus narrows her eyes slightly but smirks.

"Would you like to speak with her?"

"Yes, we would." John immediately said.

Phebus lowers her head and shuts her eyes as her body falls back slightly, Carson reaches out to catch her but Phebus regains consciousness, she looks around at us as I see the glimmer in her eye that reminded me of Elizabeth.

"Doctor Weir?" Caldwell asks.

"Oh! Oh it's ok, Carson. I'm fine!" Elizabeth said, back to her normal tone and everything, I let out a sigh of relief that I'm sure a few others do too.

"Elizabeth?" John probes. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but there's another—"

"I know," Elizabeth cut him off with a smile. "Her name is Phebus."

"You seem remarkably sanguine about all this," Rodney said in bewilderment. Elizabeth look round at all of us.

"Well, the imprinting will only last a matter of hours. The other pod—Phebus urgently desires to be here when we bring the other pod back to Atlantis," I could tell that Elizabeth thought passionately about this.

"Why?" John asked suspiciously.

"She believes it's her husband," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Husband?" Caldwell repeats in surprise.

"He escaped the ship—she's certain of it and uh…" Elizabeth giggles, holding her head. "The rush of emotion is, it's overwhelming."

"I can imagine," John drawls with a narrowed gaze.

"No, no you can't," Rodney says with a deadpan look. I try and hold back my laughter; thinking about when he and Laura Cadman had been trapped together in his body and Rodney had shared that beautiful kiss with Carson. I really needed to tease him about that again…I'm a horrible person…

"No, I can't." John agrees with a snarky tone.

"John, I'd like you to try," Elizabeth said suddenly. "Phebus has a favor she would like to ask you." Elizabeth smiled at him with a knowing look.

I stood there with a question mark above my head; I felt my jaw drop as I realized what Elizabeth was getting at.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" I hissed to John. We stood in one of the empty science labs, a few rooms away from the pods.

"I don't like this any more then you do," John replied to me with a pointed look as I sighed and crossed my arms.

"Why does it have to be you? They were husband and wife for Christ sake, and I don't want an alien person in your body with _our_ memories." I said suggestively, John understanding what I was getting at. I was worried it all of this turned South, whoever was inhabiting John's body could out us to Caldwell and the entire base; and then we'd really be screwed.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." John said, trying to reassure me as I gave him a blank look.

"We always say that, and nothing ever goes fine."

"You're being pessimistic again." John reminded me with a raised eyebrow.

"I am a pessimist." I retorted with a snap.

"Look," John said, placing his hands on my shoulders firmly. "Elizabeth can obviously communicate with this, Phebus lady. I can probably convince my guy to keep his mouth shut about us as exchange for letting him be in my body."

"No matter how many times you say it, that sentence will always be weird for me."

John was silent as he gave me a pointed look, I sighed after caving; when he gave me that look, it was easy for John to have his way with me.

"Ok," I said halfheartedly, "But I still think this whole thing is ridiculous."

"Of course you do," John said with a smile.

When I saw him smile at me like that, it was hard for me to stay annoyed or angry, he always brought out the best in me.

I felt John's hands cup my face as he pulled me to him, bending his head as our lips met in a soft kiss. I melted against him, our chests touching as my hands touched his waist, our mouths moved as one as his fingers ran through my hair and cupped the back of my head. I could feel myself becoming dizzy from the lack of air, my knees began to shake from the feeling I always had when we kissed, it was always so intense that I thought that maybe someday it would have to die down, but even after a whole year, he still made me feel like the first time we had kissed.

John pulled away, his eyes darting over my face as I looked away from him; I didn't want to admit to him that this whole thing bugged me. He had said yes to doing this already and I didn't want to give him any doubt in his decision, I'd support him with this.

* * *

John and I entered the science lab together; I saw Rodney and a few other scientists going over data on the far computers. Caldwell was inspecting the second pod that had been brought in as he saw us enter.

"Colonel, Major." He nodded to us both. I inclined my head back as John started to examine the pod with a keen eye. I shuffled over to Rodney and peered over his shoulder to see what he was looking at.

"How do you think the pod knew the transfer Phebus' consciousness into Elizabeth?" I asked Rodney, it was a question that had been burning in my back pocket for a while now.

"As I understand it, the beam that hit Elizabeth was part of a failsafe feature built into the pod system," Rodney explained. I noticed that Caldwell and John had both turned their attention to him and were listening in. "As cellular failure progressed, the pod stored her consciousness in a sort of flash memory."

"Why?" Caldwell asked. "I mean, what good is the technology if the effects are temporary?"

"It's a Black Box." John stated; his brow furrowed.

"Well, that makes sense. Even if the body is incapable of being revived, the survivor can still report what happened to their ships. The rescue team could interrogate them even if they were incapable of regaining consciousness."

"You're talking about a human flight recorder," Caldwell said in disgust. "That's pretty dark."

"Pretty useful thing in times of war." John added.

"Well, it could be the means for two survivors to say one last goodbye, hmm?" Rodney grinned over at John with a teasing glint in his eye. I tried not to let my annoyance show, but in reality I wanted to clap Rodney round the head for his comment. As if I didn't need to be reminded that the person who was going in John's body was the husband to the person in Elizabeth's, who knows what was going to happen when they met. A dozen scenarios were going through my head, all of them bad and made me clench my jaw.

The sound of wheels had me looking over to the door as Carson wheeled in Elizabeth; her gaze was focused solely on the pod.

"Are you sure she's up for this?" Caldwell asked Carson. Carson gave him a slight shrug.

"Physically, she's perfectly fine. Besides, Elizabeth wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Ah, love is a powerful thing, Carson." Elizabeth said with a smile.

"You're a hopeless romantic, you know that?" John said jokingly.

Elizabeth returned his smile, "Well, you're just as hopeless, otherwise you wouldn't have agreed."

I tried to hide my smile from John; he was standing across from me as I looked away. I could feel the annoyed vibe coming off him, I was really the only one who knew about his romantic side, aside from Teyla whom had helped plan the little getaway we had a few weeks ago.

"I've gone over the respective EEG patterns and I can say with some degree of confidence that this…imprinting that Doctor Weir's temporary occupant calls won't last more than a few hours." Carson explained sensitively.

"You can guarantee that?" Caldwell asked skeptically.

"A day at most."

"Well! I'm sold!" Rodney exclaimed. I think he was just happy that other people were going to experience what he had gone through with Laura in the beginning of the year.

Rodney opens up the pod as I hold my breath, seeing an elderly man lying asleep in he pod. He looked to be around the same age as Phebus when she had been in the pod. He was dressed exactly the same as Phebus except his uniform was brown.

"He's still alive," Carson said as he consulted his scanner. "Same as before. Life signs even fainter than the first one. If we're going to do this, we should do it now." Carson said anxiously.

I looked at John; he was tense and worried. He didn't want to do this but he was a good man and a kind person, he wanted to help out these people.

"I'd prefer it if this alien consciousness weren't armed," Caldwell drawled.

John nods, taking out his pistol, "Right." The nearest person to him was Rodney as he handed him the gun. Rodney looked like he didn't know what to do with himself for a couple of seconds as he held the weapon, he then dropped it down by his side.

John's gaze quickly flicks over to me as I give him a reassuring nod, far from what I really wanted to do, which was yell at him to stop.

"Colonel Sheppard." Carson said. "You'll have to be in close proximity to the pod for the transfer to happen."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." John mumbles, staring down at the old man. He didn't move an inch. Carson glanced over at me nervously then back at John.

"But you're not moving." He stated matter-of-factly.

John's head jerked up in surprise. He bit down on his lip nervously and held his hands out, "You know, they were husband and wife. Anything could happen." He said. I held my tongue from speaking.

"I promise to be discreet," the tone of voice that came from Elizabeth's mouth, confirmed that Phebus had now taken over.

"Well, um," John stuttered, looking around at us all nervously. "I guess I'll see you guys later." John takes baby steps to the pod, his whole body tense as I stand and watch.

"Have fun!" Rodney says teasingly in a singsong voice. If John wasn't so focused on the pod in front of him I had no doubt that he would've berated or snapped at the cocky scientist.

John reached the side of the pod as he leaned his head down. The familiar whirring sound from before was heard as a white light shot out of the pod and engulfed John's head. He stumbled back, his body shaking as his eyes shut. I was worried that he was about to collapse on the floor like Elizabeth did but he managed to catch his footing.

"Give him a moment," Phebus says, holding her arm out to block Carson who I could see had tried to go to him.

A few seconds later John raised his head, his eyes opening slowly as he searched around the room for something.

"Thalen? It's me." Phebus said to him.

"Phebus?" John said, or rather, Thalen. It was hard for me to comprehend what I was seeing. I knew that it was John's body, it was his voice but another man was inside of him.

"It's alright, these people recovered our pods." Phebus says to him as she begins to walk to him, more like stalking really. "We may very well be the last of our kind. These generous people have allowed us to be together one last time."

Thalen moves his head to look at Caldwell, I didn't miss the fact that his gaze had landed on me for a split second, I saw recognition in his gaze, obviously knowing who I was from John's memories, I was just terrified that something horrible was about to come out of his mouth.

"You consented to this?" Thalen asked Caldwell as the Colonel nodded grimly.

"One last chance…to say goodbye to my husband." Phebus says. Thalen looks at Phebus as the woman inhabiting Elizabeth's body steps closer to him.

In a flash, Phebus had seized John's head and pressed her lips to his. I knew it wasn't John, I knew that they were different people right now, but it didn't stop my heart hurting painfully as I watched the display. I had to turn away from the sight; I couldn't watch Elizabeth and John make out. I repeated that it wasn't them a dozen times in the space of a few seconds but it still didn't do much.

I tried to keep the hurt look off my face as I looked anywhere but them.


	59. Chapter 59 - Uhh please don't kill me

Hi guys,

I know this isn't an update and I don't want any of you thinking that I've somehow dropped off the face of the planet, I haven't exactly! Anyway I wanted to let you guys all know about what's been happening with me the past few weeks and why I wasn't able to update last week.

I know some of you may be annoyed or upset about this but I am sorry about it!

So anyway, you guys all knew that I was sick a few weeks ago leading up to Christmas, pretty much I didn't get any better and I was pretty much in and out of hospital for a few days on fluids and drips and whatnot.

Now, I had booked a trip over east to visit family for the Christmas holidays and while I was sick or either in hospital my dad had packed most of my suitcase for me. I had asked him to pack my laptop seeing as I hadn't even touched it over the past couple weeks I thought, you know, that's a simple task for him.

Apparently not.

He forgot to pack it.

I do take the blame as well by not checking to see if my laptop was in my suitcase so when I got to my aunts house and unpacked, I realized that my laptop was not in my suitcase.

Cue swearing and whatnot. I was honestly so mad at myself for not checking, I blame it on my sickly mind as I'm still not fully back to normal as of yet, I'm still suffering.

Now I know that I could've probably written a chapter or something but for me to force out 10+ page chapters for the couple weeks I'm here for seemed pretty gruesome for me, and to be honest I can't remember everything that I wrote in the chapters and I was afraid that it wouldn't be the same if I was under the pressure to write something to just get it out there, and another thing—I'm on holiday.

Like I know it sounds shitty and boo hoo me but I write _all the time_ , literally, everyday I'm writing and it's so exhausting and I just wanted a break for a while to be with family and enjoy Christmas and New Years with my family and not having to worry about anything.

I know this is a pretty shitty excuse and I was actually really excited to post a chapter up on Christmas for you all, obviously it isn't happening seeing as Christmas has already gone and it's taken me literally two days to muster up the courage to post this little explanation, but I've just been having too much fun to focus.

So, if you skipped all that and just want to know when I'll be posting again, the next chapter will be posted on the **12/01/2018**.

It seems like a long way away, which it is and I do apologise again for forgetting my laptop, I'm actually using my cousins shitty ass computer for this.

Again I can't tell you all how sorry I am for this and to make you all wait! I love you all and I'll see you soon!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a happy and safe new years!


	60. Emergence - Chapter 60

**Hi guys! I'm back home finally yay! It feels like years since I've been able to update and honestly I was so lost without my laptop while on holiday but it was very much needed! I'm so sorry again for the wait that you guys had to bear and I know some of you freaked out thinking that I wouldn't be updating until later this year, it gave me a heart attack when I read those comments that I did reply to those who asked. I hope you all enjoy and we're picking right up where we left off in The Long Goodbye!**

 **Also, thank you everyone for your loving words and support about my health and wellbeing, I am completely 100% right now and the time off i had from writing did me good. I am touched by how much you all care and please know that I value and love you all from the bottom of my heart, this story is for you guys and would'nt be here without you all!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

They finally broke away, Thalen looking confused as Phebus smiled softly. "It's not what I expected," Thalen said in John's voice. I was having a really hard time controlling my emotions right now.

"I know this body is different but I assure you, Thalen, it's me." She paused for a second. "Is it possible for us to be alone, just for a few minutes?" Phebus asked.

"No!" I cried out instantly, then clamping my mouth shut thinking that I was screwed for saying that. It didn't matter in the end as Caldwell had the same idea as me.

"No, absolutely not."

"Oh, don't be so heartless!" Carson whined as I shot him a dark glare that he failed to see.

"They are two consenting adults," Rodney argued.

"Rodney!" I said in outrage as he shrugged at me.

"That's not what I'm concerned about, Doctor." Caldwell bit back. For once I was actually thankful that he was here, he was actually being a voice of reason and taking charge in this situation, unlike if I had just been me here I probably would've lost my shit already.

"The Colonel's right." Thalen said. The two of them still hadn't broken eye contact, which was weird. Then longer that these two were in the room together, the worse the vibe was becoming in the room. I shifted on my feet.

"Doctor Weir is in charge of this facility," Phebus pointed out. I wanted to remind her that she wasn't actually Elizabeth; she was just hijacking her body for a couple of hours while they had their little reunion.

"I'm just saying, there should be an armed guard just outside the door," Thalen said slowly.

"Two guards—one on each door."

I found it strange how these two people were stating at how we should handle our security, so what if we had guards at the doors, it wasn't like they were dangerous, they were both unarmed.

"I've already taken that precaution. They're right outside." Caldwell said in a bored voice. He was acting like he wanted this day to be over already, he wasn't the only one. It had only been a few minutes but I was ready to have John back.

"Of course they are." Phebus said with a smile.

I frowned at them. These two were acting like—

"Hey!"

I was startled, Thalen and Phebus both spun around and raced for the doors on either end. Rodney had been the one to cry out in surprise. I was on the opposite side of John's body, and as Phebus ran by me she shoved me roughly into the wall. I hadn't even realized that she had done that until I felt my head smack against the cold wall, jarring my head, making me see stars for a second. I rebounded off the wall, trying to collect my thoughts as I could hear the sounds of a punch being thrown.

What the actual hell had just happened?

I faced the door, my head thumping with the beating of my blood as Phebus stood in the doorway, a Wraith stunner in hand.

"Oh shit." I muttered, I didn't even have time to dodge as I saw the flash of blue light as my body erupted into pins and needles as my vision instantly went dark. I was just thankful I was out cold before I felt the pain of hitting the floor and adding to my injury.

* * *

When I woke up my head wasn't hurting, as much as I thought it should, my fingers were still numb and my left foot. I recognized the infirmary immediately as I sat up, my memories coming back to me.

Elizabeth and John sharing a kiss.

Then running to opposite doors.

Elizabeth shoving me and then stunning me with a wraith stunner weapon.

I reached up to feel my head, a small bandage was placed over what I could only guess was a head wound that I had received from her.

"You're awake." Carson said as he came around the corner.

"What happened?" I asked, rubbing my forehead, hoping to relieve some of the pain that I was feeling there.

"A lot," he admitted. I met his blue-eyed gaze as he sighed. "It seems that the people who are inhabiting Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir are enemies. They're two fighter pilots hell-bent on killing one another. The one in Elizabeth, Phebus, we think she played us the whole time."

"That doesn't surprise me." I said bitterly.

"Right now they are both somewhere in the city, we have security teams looking for them but they are remarkably hard to find." Carson explained as I nodded.

"They have all of their memories, we couldn't have picked a worse pair to have alien inhabitants in their bodies." I said half-jokingly as Carson nodded in agreement.

"Colonel Caldwell asks that you meet him in the control room when you're feeling up for it." Carson added.

I waved him off, standing from the bed. "I'll head up there now." I said to him.

"I'll come with you." He said.

I was steadily walking to the control room; the feeling in my fingers was slowly coming back to me as I massaged them gently. My head was hurting a lot more now that I was up and walking around but I could manage it.

I was halfway to the control room when suddenly everything went dark, Carson halted in his tracks with me.

"What happened?" He asked worriedly as I squinted in the darkness.

"Seems like the power has been cut." I mused. I motioned for Carson to follow me as I began running towards the control room; we were only a few meters away so it wasn't hard for us to navigate in the dark corridors of Atlantis.

Carson and I hurried up the stairs as I saw Rodney frantically looking at his computers and Caldwell standing with his hands on his hips, a frown on his face.

"What happened?" I asked, coming to stand next to Rodney.

"The whole city went dark," Rodney glares over at Caldwell. "Tell me you had someone guarding the power room?"

"Two Marines from Daedalus." Caldwell said harshly as he hit his radio. "Hutchinson, this is Caldwell, report?" There was no reply from his men as I shared a look with Carson. It seemed that either Thalen or Phebus had taken our power out to stop us from finding them. "Where's auxiliary power?" Caldwell asked Chuck.

Now that he mentioned it, it was strange that the backup generators hadn't kicked in already.

"Naquadah generators aren't kicking in. He or she must have damaged the back-ups," Chuck explained.

"We've lost everything?" Caldwell asked.

"Shields, communications, long range and biometric sensors." Rodney listened them off.

"The sensors from the Daedalus—we can contact them—"

"Subspace communications are also down." Rodney drawled in an obvious tone that I had heard often.

Caldwell ignored his tone, "I need you to get down to the power room, Doctor. Restore primary systems."

"I should go along too. Marines could be hurt." Carson said, worried.

"Exactly!" Rodney exclaimed, "Marines may have been injured. We can't go down there!"

"I'll go then." I snapped at Rodney. All eyes turned on me as I saw Caldwell shake his head.

"No, I need you up here." Caldwell said to me. I was surprised to say the least; I hadn't expected to hear that come out of his mouth, ever. "One of them might come up here next, and with Ronon gone you're the next best thing to protect the control room in case one of them decide to leave the city." Caldwell explained. I nodded in understanding; he did have a point there. Caldwell turned back to Rodney. "I will send two of my people along with you just in case."

"Well, how do we know that Sheppard isn't down there waiting in ambush?" Rodney yelled, his voice raised. I could see on Caldwell's face that he was growing tired of Rodney's excuses, I had been around the scientist enough over the year to deal with him, and Caldwell had not.

"Because he's not trying to kill us, he's trying to kill Doctor Weir!" Carson cried.

"Oh that is so much more comforting!" Rodney replied sarcastically.

Caldwell snapped, "This is not a request, Doctor McKay!" Rodney's face paled slightly as he continued to stare at the agitated Colonel, "Let me know the moment you have a damage assessment." Caldwell said in a calmer tone. Rodney glared at Caldwell for another second before he turned to the Marines who were going to escort him to the power room and ordered them to go. I rolled my eyes at him and faced Caldwell.

"Don't worry about him, he always gets like this when there's a crisis." I said reassuringly to him. Caldwell gave me a blank stare.

"So he's like this all the time then?"

I managed to laugh at the attempted joke; Caldwell even cracked a smile at me.

"His bark is a lot worse then his bite. He'll get it all fixed. He just get's mad as he likes everyone to depend on him in the end, even though he denies it, he loves it when he's the only one who can fix the problems."

"You know him a lot better then I do," Caldwell admitted as I scoffed lightly.

"I've known him for over a year now, it's when Rodney doesn't argue with you that you should start to worry."

Caldwell chuckled as he turned his attention to the screens.

* * *

Carson had radioed in to tell us that the man down was in fact Ronon. He had been shot with one of our guns, and it was safe to assume that either Phebus or Thalen had done this. Ronon was currently unconscious and going in for surgery with Carson so we had no way of asking him just what the hell had happened. It was strange for Ronon to be the one who had come under fire from the two alien identities, he was smarter then that; but I guess they had gotten the best of both of us, seeing as I had been knocked aside by Phebus and taken out with a stunner before I had even realized what had happened to me. The same probably happened with Ronon.

Caldwell had a frustrated frown on his face as he stared at the black screen, if the power was on, that screen would be showing us all the life signs in the base and the location of them. He had been staring at it for a good thirty minutes now, ever since the man down call had come in; I could guess that Caldwell was probably taking this news badly. He wanted to prove that he could handle a situation like this, obviously since the Goa'uld had been inhabiting his body, a lot of people had distanced themselves from him, I had even heard that the IOA had plans to even remove him from duty, thinking that he could possibly still pose a risk to the safety of not only Atlantis but Earth also. I sympathized with him I realized. I knew what it was like to have people judge your mental health, hell, ever since my dad died people have been waiting for me to snap. In retrospect when Ford left that was when I had snapped, but only John and I knew about that, and ever since that day I had felt a certain burden being lifted off my shoulders gradually. It was only when I had been reacquainted with Ford and we had said our goodbyes that I had actually started to feel like my old self again.

As I stood behind Caldwell, pondering over what words I could possibly say to him to hopefully make him feel a little better I realized there was nothing I could really say. What words of advice could I really give him? And I seriously doubted if Caldwell wanted to hear words of advice from a lowly Major.

" _Colonel Caldwell,"_ I jumped slightly from hearing Teyla's voice in my ear. Caldwell turned, facing me and listening to Teyla. " _This is Teyla. I'm at the base of the central tower tracking Doctor Weir."_

"Understood," Caldwell said with a nod. "I'll send reinforcements."

" _I can handle Doctor Weir. But is she is here, Colonel Sheppard is also close by."_ My radio went silent as I met the Colonel's brown gaze.

He looked away from me and activated his radio once more, making sure that it was still only patched through to the security teams, "Major Lorne, have your teams report to the central tower, Teyla has a sighting on Doctor Weir and is sure that the Colonel wont be far behind."

" _Understood_." Lorne replied.

"I wish to go too, Sir." I said to Caldwell, making him turn his attention to me.

"I can't do that, Major. I still need you here in case one of them decide to backtrack," he replied, crossing his arms as I ground my teeth together.

"I'm the closest one to them right now, I can help Teyla." I tried persuading him again, still keeping my tone cool.

"Not happening," he said firmly as I sighed and faced away from him. I hated being out of the loop; I wanted to be with my teams, helping them locate Phebus and Thalen. Why did I get stuck with bodyguard duty? I could see the reason why Caldwell was keeping me here, but seriously? He knows that I'm one of the best fighters that we've got in this damn city, and with Ronon out of whack he needs me to go down there!

"Colonel Caldwell there is reports of automatic weapons fire coming from the base of the central tower!" Chuck said urgently to us. Caldwell swore loudly and attempted to get in touch with Teyla.

"Teyla come in!" He waited for a few seconds before trying again. "Teyla report!"

" _Colonel Caldwell, I'm ready to attempt a partial power up."_ Rodney suddenly spoke through the radio. I was staring at Caldwell intently, waiting for him to give me the ok for going after them. Now that they were hopefully in the same vicinity of each other, it was likely that neither of them would come up here. Caldwell just had to let me go down there.

"Give me everything you've got Doctor. I have a report of automatic weapons fire and Teyla's not answering her radio."

It was a long few seconds, I was holding my breathe as suddenly the room lit up again. I was able to see more than five feet in front of me again.

" _Power is stabilizing,"_ Rodney said joyously through the radio. I turned to Caldwell, pleading him with my eyes to let me go. He seemed to ponder it for a moment.

"Go." He said, jerking his head in the direction of the stairs. I didn't need to be told twice. I returned his nod, running past him just as I heard Rodney say that he was making his way back up to the control room. I hurried to the armory, picking up one of the last Wraith stunners in the arsenal as I spun around and dashed across the control room, glancing up to see Caldwell staring at me as I left the room. I passed a surprised looking Rodney as I narrowly dodged barreling into him, he huffed at me but let me pass as ran to the nearest transporter that would take me to the base of the tower.

I enter the transporter, and as my finger was inches from the screen I hear the lockdown alarm as I gasp; I spun around, just in time to see the bulkhead door slide close, "Shit!" I screamed. I turned back to the screen, and swore again when the damned thing sealed itself off too. "Shit!" I banged my fists against the hard metal. I hit my radio. "Rodney what the hell is going on? I'm stuck in a transporter!" I yelled at him.

" _The woman inside Elizabeth has put us in a lockdown—did you just say you're locked in a transporter?"_

"Rodney!" I screeched at him. Now was not the time for him to ponder his theories about the transporter doors being affected by a lockdown, we had already established this a year ago.

" _Sorry,"_ he replied. " _Look, you're going to have to sit tight. I'm trying to override her code but it's going to take me a while."_

I huffed and switched off my radio in my fury.

"Dammit!" I pounded my fist against the stupid door. I then placed my hands on either side of the opening and planted my feet firmly on the ground. I used all of my might to try and open up the door but it was no use. For some reason, the transporter doors were made of heavier metal than the normal bulkhead doors, we theorized it had something to do with the technology that was used to transport us from one place to another, but that was something for another time. Right now I was trapped in a transporter with no way of helping Teyla, they last we heard she was tailing Phebus, but then she never replied.

What if she had been injured like Ronon had?

* * *

" _Mia?"_

I raised my head from resting on my knees that I had drawn up to my face. Teyla's voice personally addressing me had me reacting for the first time since Phebus had ordered Teyla to kill John, or Thalen—but John as well. I had been listening in with my radio. I was still locked in the damn transporter, with nothing to do but sit and wait—something I wasn't good at, for Rodney to try and override the command code. Caldwell had just told Teyla that he wasn't going to order her to make a decision, and I wouldn't either…

Either Teyla didn't kill John, and Phebus released a poisonous gas that would kill over half of the Atlantis population.

Or she killed him, saving over half of the Atlantis population.

It seemed like a silly question, which one she should pick. I felt sadness well up in my gut as I thought about how Teyla must be feeling right now. If it was I, I knew I wouldn't be able to choose.

I knew what John would do. He would sacrifice his life to save us all, it was the man he was, it was the noble thing to do. If John died, all of this would be over.

"Teyla…" I started. I stopped, unsure of what to say to her. What _do_ I say to her? How could I tell my closest friend to kill the man I loved? I couldn't, the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. I knew that if Teyla killed John I would be broken beyond repair. John was the lifeline that kept me afloat. If he sunk, I sunk too. "Teyla—do what the Colonel would want you to do." Those were my final words to her. I felt the tears flow down my cheeks as I leaned my head back against the wall, I could feel my heart breaking. I knew that the next words to come out of Teyla's mouth were going to be confirmation that she had killed him…

" _Teyla this is Caldwell. Do not fire! I repeat, do not fire!"_

My eyes snapped open as I heard the transporter door open. I jumped up, spinning around and hitting the screen.

"Teyla?" I said into the radio. I needed confirmation that she didn't shoot him.

" _I didn't proceed. Colonel Sheppard is still alive."_ I breathed a sigh of relief that turned into frustration, as the damn transporter wouldn't work.

"Rodney why isn't the transporter working?" I asked him.

" _They take a little bit longer to come back online, you're better off running."_ He said to me.

"Thanks for the tip," I replied, already sprinting out of the transporter and to the nearest set of stairs.

* * *

It took me near ten minutes to get to the corridor that Teyla had been last reported in, I came skidding around the corner, running head first into Lorne as he caught me by my shoulders to steady me.

"Whoa, where have you been?" Lorne asked, surprised to see me.

"Where have I been?" I yelled at him. "I have been shoved into a wall, stunned and then locked up by myself going insane—"

"Ok, sorry I asked." Lorne said with a smirk, cutting of my tangent. I seethed silently beside him as he walked further into the corridor. One of his security team moved out of the way as I finally saw John. He was bound, hands and feet tied together with cable ties, he was propped up against the wall, he obviously hadn't realized that I was here as he was staring at the unconscious body of Elizabeth who was also tied up, she was passed out cold on the floor, a perpetual frown on her normally soft features. Meaning that Phebus hadn't left her body yet.

Teyla spotted me as I motioned for her to follow me out of the corridor; now that the whole ordeal was over I needed to ask her about John.

"Mia, I'm sorry. I was so close to shooting—"

"It's ok," I cut her off with a raised hand. "I don't know how you managed to stay strong during that." I said to her with a soft smile. The smile she gave me was weak.

"Have you spoken to him yet?" She asked me. I shook my head.

"Is he himself?" I asked her, peering around the corner again. John was now glaring at the floor, something was on his mind, but he still didn't sense me staring at him so I faced Teyla once again.

"I'm not sure. There was a moment where he seemed to go into convulsions and tried to assure me that he was himself but until Doctor Beckett clears him we cannot know for sure." She explained with a tight smile. I nodded in understanding. "You do not want to see him?"

"It's not that," I replied quickly, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "I wouldn't put it passed him to say something about our relationship," I lowered my voice considerably.

Teyla nodded in understanding, "You have a point; but I don't think that the person inhabiting the Colonel's body would do so."

"Why'd you say that?" I asked her, my brow furrowed.

"He probably had many chances to say something."

"You're right." I sighed, "But I'm not willing to take that chance."

* * *

Ronon stirred in his sleep. I motioned for Teyla as she rose from her chair across the room as we both came to stand by Ronon's side. His eyes slowly opened as he grunted and glanced around the room, his dark gaze finally landed on the two of us.

"How are you feeling?" Teyla asked him with concern. Ronon's gaze flicked over to her as he sighed gruffly and shut them once more.

"Like I got shot." He replied in a bored tone. I barked out a laugh, it was something that I would definitely say. "They gone?" Ronon asked. I assumed he was talking about Phebus and Thalen.

"The one inhabiting Colonel Sheppard has passed on, Doctor Beckett confirmed this a few hours ago…as for the other one…" Teyla trailed off. She tilted her head to the side. In the deep space of the infirmary, in the isolation ward that was used for contagious patients we could hear a horrible screeching, coming from Phebus who was still holding on to Elizabeth's body.

"Doesn't sound happy," Ronon said with a slight smirk.

"No, she doesn't." I agreed with a nod. "Carson reckons she'll be gone within the hour, her EEG waves are weakening and we'll have the good ole' Elizabeth back, thankfully." I said with a grin. Teyla smiled in agreement.

"We should let you rest, we wanted to make sure you were ok before we went to check on the Colonel."

"You could get me some food." Ronon said persuasively as Teyla and I shared a comical look.

"He's fine," I said to her cheerfully. Teyla chuckled and placed her hand on his shoulder gently, giving him a reassuring squeeze before speaking.

"I'll go get Doctor Beckett to come check on you."

"I'd rather have the food."

I laughed softly at Ronon, "I don't think your body can handle solid food yet. When I was shot I was only on a liquid diet for about a week."

"I'm stronger than you." He pointed out.

"True," I said. "I guess that means I'll be out of a sparring partner for a while." I muttered gleefully. Ronon cracked a smirk.

"Even if I had one arm I'd still be able to beat you."

"Want to put that to a test, Conan?"

"Try me."

Ronon and I held glares for a few seconds before Teyla tugged on my arm, "We should go see how Doctor Weir is doing. Rest, Ronon; I'm sure the two of you will have plenty of time to spar once you're fully healed."

* * *

"It was weird, y'know." John said to me. I leant my chin on his shoulder as I stared up at the side of his face. He was staring out to the sea. We were at the South Pier, sitting with our backs against the small wall as his hand was currently tracing circles on my leg. My hands were tangled up in his jacket as a chilly gust of wind blew a stray piece of hair into my face. I shivered a little, moving closer to his body heat as I tucked the hair behind my ear.

"I could see everything that he was doing. Could hear my own voice coming out of my mouth but it wasn't me doing it. I was trying to speak to anyone but nothing happened." I listened to him talk, it was a time for me to listen and not speak, I could tell. "I feel horrible about what I did to Ronon. I know it wasn't me that did it but I can't help but feel responsible."

"I can't imagine what it was like…" I muttered, finally speaking. I turned my head so that my cheek rested against his shoulder. His hand grasped my leg, his fingers lying still against the clothed limb.

"Mia…" he said my name quietly. From his tone of voice I could tell where this was heading. "About the kiss—"

"Don't worry about it," I cut him off, my tone light. "I'm not mad, or annoyed. I know that it wasn't you."

He remained quiet; it worried me. I didn't want him thinking that he had cheated on me or anything; it wasn't the same but I remember when I had to tell him about Ford kissing me when he was leaving Atlantis, this was kind of the same thing.

"I don't want you thinking that I wanted to kiss, uh…Elizabeth…"

"John, stop," I said with a laugh. "I'm fine." I said firmly. I felt his hand cup my chin as he turned my face to stare at him; his hazel eyes met my gaze as he stared at me, searching for something.

"I saw your face." I felt my lips part slightly, I wanted to say 'what are you talking about?' but I knew that was stupid, I knew what he was talking about. "When we…kissed…his eyes looked over to you for a second, he obviously knew, and I saw your face. You were hurt, I could see it on your face."

I brushed it off, giving him a reassuring smirk as I pulled my face out of his grip, "Of course it hurt, John. I had to watch you kiss Elizabeth. I know that it wasn't you though, and I can't blame you for that."

"You can." John said. I stared at him, a question mark over my head. "You didn't want me to go through with it in the first place, I should've listened to you." A frown came over his features as I shook my head lightly.

"I'm not going to blame you for this, John. Yes I didn't want you to do it but it was something you wanted to do, and I wasn't going to act like a child and stomp my foot when I didn't get my way. What's done is done, isn't that what you said to me a few weeks ago?" I was referring to when the jumper crashed into the ocean and Griffin had died in the crash, I felt partially responsible for his death and John had said those exact words to me.

I reached out to his face, running my fingers over the slight stubble on his cheek as I angled his face to mine, leaning forwards I pressed my lips against his. They were warm and soft, a small part was chapped but I didn't mind. He responded to my kiss, moving his mouth in sync with mine as his hand came up to my neck and around to the back as he tangled his fingers in my messy hair. His tongue darted into my mouth as he pulled me flush against him, my chest heaving against his as his other hand started to roam up and down my back, sending tingles shooting through my body as I let out a sigh.

I pulled away from him slightly; his warm breath caressed my face as I ran my hand down his arm to rest against his bicep. "You can't get rid of me that easily." I said.

I heard him laugh, "You think I was trying to get rid of you?" He asked. He knew I was joking. I smirked as I leant forwards so that my mouth was next to his ear. I ran my tongue over my lips, wetting them as I spoke softly into his ear.

"I'm going to make you forget about that kiss, John Sheppard." I said seductively.

I felt his fingers dig into my back as I used my teeth to nibble on his earlobe and run my tongue over it gently. His hands started dancing over my skin, touching and grasping in all the right places as I pulled back to stare at his expression.

His eyes were dark, full of lust as I smirked and pulled his head towards me as we met in another heated kiss.

* * *

 **I know quite a few of you wanted Mia to be the one in Teyla's position for this episode but I didn't want to change too much of this episode as there will be some big changes in an upcoming one very soon, it'll be pretty Mia-centric! Three points to whoever guesses what episode that will be? ;) See you next weed guys!**


	61. Emergence - Chapter 61

**Hi guys I know I didnt reply to any reviews last chapter but I will be this week. Again thank you all for your support with my health. Sorry about the lateness with this chapter, things have been a little hectic since returning home with enrolling for my studies and mess ups with that, ugh but it's all sorted now but I hope you all understand that that had to come first before I could post anything!**

 **Also, I have a little request for you guys. Seeing as Season 2 will be coming to a close soon I need to start thinking about a title for Season 3. As you have seen Season 1 was called Genesis in the fact that it means beginning, Season 2 was called Emergence solely for the fact about a new enemy coming into light (3 guesses on who this enemy is. Hint: He's in the next episode.) So I'm actually kind of stuck on a title for Season 3 and it's bugging me as I'm loosing focus on writing Season 3 right now as I can't think of anything to call it! If anyone has any suggestions for me it will be greatly appreciated, I would like to keep it in the same gist as Season 1 and 2. If you need some inspiration Season 3 is solely going to be revolving around John and Mia and their relationship coming into light and some more obstacles that they will need to face. I know it's not much to go on but I'm desperate guys! I wouldn't normally have you guys help me but I thought, why the hell not!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"Should you be out of the infirmary already?" I asked the question to Ronon who was walking to us. He pulled out the chair and sat down, wincing slightly from the movement. John and Teyla both glanced over at him.

"Beckett said I could." Ronon answered as I gave him a skeptical look. He picked food off of Teyla's plate that she hadn't touched for the past ten minutes and shoveled it into his mouth, giving us a grin.

"I'm surprised," I said to him. "When I got shot I was bedridden for a week, you've made a really quick recovery."

"Told you," Ronon said with a mouth full of food. "I'm strong."

"There's strong, and then there's stupid," John added with a deadpan look. Ronon sent him a glare as his dark eyes narrowed.

"I could take you on in a sparring match even with a wound."

"I don't doubt that you could," John chuckled.

Teyla looked to Ronon with her mother hen look, "We're just concerned for you, Ronon. We could've lost you."

"Tell that to him," Ronon pointed to John. "He's the one that shot me."

"Hey!" John exclaimed. "I already apologized for that, and besides, it technically wasn't even me," John defended. I rolled my eyes at the scene.

From the corner of my eye I saw Carson enter the mess hall, and I knew for a fact that he was about to come over here and march Ronon right back to the infirmary.

"There you are!" Carson called out. Teyla and Ronon both turned around, the latter groaning and facing back to the plate of food in front of him.

"Doctor Beckett," Teyla said in a polite greeting. "I take it Ronon wasn't released from the infirmary."

"He most certainly wasn't," Carson scolded sharply. "You should still be on bed rest."

"I'm fine, I told you." Ronon argued, his fists clenched on the table.

"You had a major surgery on your abdomen a week ago, your stitches haven't fully healed yet, any exertion could see you right back in that operating room."

"I'm not good at sitting around," Ronon fired back.

"Ronon listen to the guy," John tried to be the voice of reason. "We don't have any missions for a couple more days, and if you're feeling up for it then, you can come along if Beckett says that you're good to go."

Carson shot John a look that was meant to say 'like hell he'll be ready for a mission in a couple of days', but John shook his head at the Doctor. Carson seemed to understand as he sighed. Ronon seemed to think about it, wanting to argue further, I wanted to say that I would've probably done the same thing as Ronon but I don't think that would've gone down well with John or Carson.

" _Colonel Sheppard please have your team report to the control room immediately!"_

A look passed between the four of us as John, Teyla and I sprung up from our chairs, we were running out of the mess hall together, in the background I could faintly hear Carson calling after Ronon, my guess was the Satedan was following us. Like Ronon would ever pass up an opportunity for action.

* * *

We arrived at the top of the stairs, Elizabeth meeting us, "What's the situation?" John asked her as she beckoned us to follow her in to the terminals where Rodney appeared from the other set of stairs, obviously coming from his lab downstairs.

"We just received a distress call from Doctor Lindsay on P4X-177."

"She was with Major Lorne's team right?" Rodney asked. I heard footsteps from behind me as I glanced over my shoulder, seeing Ronon enter with Carson hot on his heels.

"Yes, they were doing a routine check up. Doctor Lindsay just radioed for backup, Major Lorne's team came under fire."

"Permission to provide backup?" John asked her immediately without hesitating.

Elizabeth nodded, "Granted. I shouldn't have to warn you to be careful, we don't know who's there."

John gave her a tightlipped nod as he spun around and faced Carson, "Doc I'm going to need Ronon on this."

"Ack! You can't be serious! He's in no state to be going on a rescue mission," Carson argued.

"Ronon's one of our best fighters, I need him. After this you can detain him in the infirmary for all I care."

I wanted to say that there probably wasn't a soul on the base who could keep Ronon detained in the infirmary but I decided against it. I watched silently as Carson pondered the reasoning, he knew that the pros outweighed the cons; we needed Ronon. Finally Carson sighed in defeat and waved Ronon off.

"Alright, fine. Try not to do anything too drastic, I can't help you if you start bleeding out."

"Thanks, Doc." John said, clapping him on the shoulder as we hurried passed him, heading down into the armory as I could hear the gate being dialed up.

* * *

The five of us stood in front of the gate as I checked over my ammo and p-90.

"Alright, we don't know what we're walking into, so stay alert and sharp," John instructed as I nodded in sync with Teyla. The gate connected as John sent a thumb up to Elizabeth as we entered the Stargate.

We met up with Lindsay; she was standing by the gate, hunched in on herself as she scurried over to us when we came through the gate. It was dark on this planet, and in the distance I could see the lights from a small village that they had been staying in.

"Are you ok?" John asked her as she nodded. "Can you take us to Lorne?"

"Yes, please follow me," she said, leading the way.

John had told her to stay behind him as we approached the village, it was eerily quiet and I had serious doubts that Lorne had come under fire, if he had, shouldn't the village be in an uproar or something?

"How much further?" John asked Lindsay as she pointed to a street in front of us.

"It's just around this corner."

"When was the last time you had any contact with them?" Teyla asked her.

Lindsay seemed to think about it for a second, after consulting her watch, "They came under fire about a half hour ago. The Major told me to head to the gate and radio for backup. I haven't heard from him since."

"They were under fire and you didn't head back to help?" Ronon asked in disbelief. Lindsay looked back at Ronon, stunned and a guilty expression crossing her face, "Major Lorne told me to stay by the gate."

"You did the right thing," John said to her reassuringly. We turned a corner, coming face-to-face with a two story building, the whole place had smoke rising out from it, from here I could see that the inside was burned black.

"Oh, my God!" Lindsay gasped.

"Is that the building they were in?" John asked, in his tone I could hear that he desperately wanted it to be wrong. I wanted it to be wrong, but I knew in my gut that this was the building that our team had been in.

"Well shouldn't there be villagers?" Rodney exclaimed. "Why aren't they trying to put out the fire?"

"The fire's out," Ronon answered him, "That's just steam and smoke."

"Let's take a look," John ordered. He looked over his shoulder at Rodney who was behind me, "You stay here with Lindsay." I saw Rodney's horrified face as John, Teyla, Ronon and myself moved off towards the burnt house.

"Right, sure!" Rodney hissed, his voice quiet but still grating. "Oh and hey—if you hear gunfire, just know that that's me holding back our attackers all on my own!"

We walk to the front door as John places his hand against it hesitantly, jerking at back a few times to back sure it wasn't blistering hot. When he was sure it wasn't he pushed against it, the door opening with a loud creak as we walked into the house. Smoke obscured my vision as I pulled up the neck of my jacket to cover my mouth from inhaling the smoke. I flicked on the light from my p-90 as I shone it around the room. The entire room had been decimated by the fire, everything was charred and falling apart. I accidently knocked a wooden beam as it clattered to the ground, making my three other teammates jump.

"Sorry," I apologized to them with a shrug as I saw John shake his head, obviously wondering about my clumsy habits as he walked further into the room.

"A fire like this would have burned the whole village if someone had not dealt with it," Teyla assumed as I made a noise in agreement.

"Somebody put it out. They just didn't want to stick around to talk about it," Ronon grumbled.

"How could a gun fight turn into this?" I asked to no one in particular. From up ahead another beam crashed to floor, this time it wasn't my fault as the house have a disturbing creak.

"It's not safe to be here," Ronon said, glancing round at all of us.

"Thanks for that," John muttered sarcastically. I stepped over a burnt piece of furniture as I glanced around the room, trying to find any sign of our missing team members or any weapons to indicate someone who could've done this.

"I got something," John called out. I turned, facing my light to him as I watched him bend down to something on the ground, from my distance I couldn't make out what it was. John pulled out his knife as he poked at something.

"Dammit!" He exclaimed, I could hear the grave tone in his voice.

"What is it?" I asked at the same time Ronon did. John lifts something up that I couldn't quite distinguish; it was metal as it reflected the light I was shining off my p-90.

"Dog tags," John stated as I felt my heart give a painful lurch, "These are Lorne's."

" _Fuck!_ " I yelled, picking up the nearest thing to me and throwing it deeper into the room, "Who the hell would do this?" I said angrily. I was livid. Lorne was my friend, as well as Reed and Harris, they had been there for me when I had been going through my break up with John; they were all wonderful people, and for someone to kill them like this, it made me sick.

"We're going to find out." John said to me, I could tell that he was just as mad as I was about this whole situation, he was just better at keeping his emotions in check, unlike me.

"What could Lorne, Reed and Harris possibly done to piss someone off this much to kill them like this?" I cried out, pointing to the burnt corpse at John's feet.

John turned to me, giving me a look to stop talking while he thought of something, "Let's get back to Rodney, we don't know if they're still around. We need to radio Atlantis and get a medical team out here to take the bodies back to be examined."

"We should go find the bastards that did this!" I argued with a frown. I looked to Teyla and Ronon for encouragement, Teyla was giving me nothing but Ronon seemed to be on the same page as me, like I expected.

"No, we are heading back." John said firmly.

"But—"

"No." John cut me off with a stern look. I backed down, knowing that he was still my superior before anything else, and I had to do whatever he said, "We need to take our people back home, understood?" John said. It took me a few seconds, but I gave him and nodded stiffly. John turned his back on me as I followed quietly along.

* * *

"What the hell happened out there?" Elizabeth asked John and I the second we had returned back to Atlantis, I was present because as of now, I had resumed duties of the Second in Command. It was a job that I didn't want but I knew that Lorne would've wanted me to take it back if he wasn't around anymore. John and I entered her office together as she gave us a grim look.

"As you know, Lorne and his team had the weekly detail escorting Doctor Lindsay to 177."

"Yes, the one who was educating the people on more effective agricultural and fishing methods," Elizabeth recalled.

"Yeah, that's right. Things were going smoothly until our guys were attacked." John said.

"Just like that, out of the blue?" Elizabeth asked uncertainly.

"It seems that way," John sighed.

"By who? The villagers?"

"We don't know," I said to her. "There wasn't anyone around for us to question."

John nodded in agreement, "Lindsay's not really a useful source of information right now. She's a little shook up. Beckett gave her a sedative, hopefully she'll be able to give us more info later." From behind us I heard the gate activate. John and I spun around, Elizabeth looking surprised.

"There aren't any off world teams at the moment?" I mused.

"No, there isn't." Elizabeth confirmed as the three of us moved into the control room. Chuck was staring at his laptop screen as we stood in front of him, "What have you got?" Elizabeth asks him.

"No IDC, but we are receiving a pretty weak transmission on the VHF band. Audio and video."

"Let's see it," John said instantly. Chuck nods as he pressed something on his laptop and turns in his chair to face the large screen behind him. I walk over to it with the other two as the static disappears and a shockingly familiar face appears on the screen.

"Wait a second…" I mumbled.

" _Atlantis base, this is Ladon Radim. Are you receiving transmission?"_

"It's one of Kolya's men." John states.

I knew I recognized him! He was the scientist that had come with Kolya during the raid, he had fetched me bandages when Kolya had shot me, if it wasn't for him, I'd probably be dead.

"Yeah, I know who he is. We can't answer this though. I need the Genii of all people to believe that Atlantis has been destroyed," Elizabeth argued, her eyes flicking between John and me.

"I know we got the word out."

" _My men have witnessed your teams dialing and returning through the Stargate to Atlantis more than once. From that I can deduce that the rumors of your city's demise are greatly exaggerated."_ Ladon explained as I pressed my lips into a firm line, so much for us being sneaky.

"Sneaky—I'll give him that." John muttered.

" _Your secret is safe as long as you respond to this transmission."_ Blackmail, what a way to gain our trust, I thought sarcastically to myself. I glanced over at Elizabeth, trying to gauge her reaction, she was pensive, and after a second turned to Chuck.

"Open a channel."

" _Atlantis base, this is Ladon Radim—"_

"We hear you, this is Weir," Elizabeth cut him off. On the video I saw Ladon's eyes widen in slight surprise as he smirked.

" _Doctor Weir. I was beginning to fear the rumors of your destruction were true."_

"What do you want?" Elizabeth snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and giving the screen a steely expression, even though Ladon couldn't see her.

" _I have something to trade_ ," Ladon said with a hopeful grin.

Elizabeth scoffed lightly, "Don't think I don't recognize you, Ladon. You're a member of Kolya's strike force. You tried to forcibly take this city from us. Why would we want to do business with you?"

" _Because I have defected from the Genii."_ Ladon stated as I rolled my eyes.

"Like that makes it any better," I muttered under my breath.

"Well, good luck with that!" Elizabeth said sarcastically to him. Making a bitter smile appear on my face from her stubbornness. Ladon reaches down for something off camera, from the slight strain on his face it appears to be a bit heavy, making me wonder what he could possibly have that we would want to trade with?

" _And I have a zero point module."_ Ladon lifted up the ZPM to show it to the camera, I felt my mouth open slightly in shock, what the hell was Ladon doing with a ZPM? Well, he certainly had my attention now.

"And I have a tentative truce with the Genii that I'm not very eager to jeopardize," Elizabeth said strongly, after recomposing herself from her own shock at seeing a ZPM in Ladon's hands.

" _The Genii got what they wanted. They want no more from you, and this is of no use to me. But I know how important these devices are to your continued survival. Now, we can discuss this in person. Lower your shields and allow me safe passage into the city."_

I saw John and Elizabeth exchange glances, they were both torn on what to do here, but from the look in Elizabeth's eyes she had made up her mind, I just wasn't sure I agreed with her.

"We're not interested Ladon." She said firmly.

I saw the irritation pass over his face, " _This is far, far better than the last trade you made with the Genii, Doctor, and you know it. I'm transmitting the gate address to the planet I'm on. You can send a team to search me if you wish, but I am unarmed and alone. I'll be here for two hours, if I don't hear from you within that time, this zero point module will be lost to you forever. The choice is yours."_

The screen goes dark as Elizabeth releases a breath she had been holding onto.

"I don't trust him," John said to both of us.

"That may be so," Elizabeth started, "but he's right, we need that ZPM." Elizabeth turned to me, "Go get Rodney, bring him up here with Teyla and Ronon so we can discuss this together."

"Yes, Ma'am," I said with a nod as I turned on my heel and marched off to find the others.

* * *

I sat next to Ronon on the edge of the table, John and Teyla next to him with Rodney staring at the screen where he had blown up a picture of Ladon's face, holding the ZPM in view, Elizabeth sat on the other side of the table.

"Look I'm probably one of the last people to not wanting to trust the Genii," Rodney said. I cleared my throat in annoyance, making him look over at me. I gave him a 'Really, McKay?' look, silently reminding him that I was in fact the one who had been shot by Kolya. He gave me a little wave and rolled his eyes at me, "But a ZPM is a ZPM. Who cares where it comes from?"

"We've already got one," John stated simply.

Rodney gave him a blank look, "Yes, one."

"Two's better than one," Ronon added. He leaned back in his chair.

"And three is better than two," Rodney continued with a dismissive tone. "Look, we all know that eventually the Wraith are going to discover we're still here. Having more power means that we have more options. We might even be able to light up the engines and get the city to fly."

I stared at Rodney in disbelief. A flying Atlantis, now _that_ sounded cool.

"Really?" John asked, hopefully.

Rodney shifted uncomfortably, "No, but we still need it."

"Way to get my hopes up, Rodney," I muttered bitterly.

"Well, flying city or not, I think we should consider this," Elizabeth said.

I finally spoke up; I cleared my throat, gaining their attention, "I trust him."

"You what?" John asked in an accusing tone. I avoided his gaze, looking around at the others.

"I would be dead if it wasn't for Ladon. When Kolya shot me Ladon was the one who bandaged me up, if he hadn't I would've bled out sooner and died," I recited, finally meeting John's gaze. He was giving me an unreadable look.

"You never said told us that," Rodney muttered.

I shrugged, "I guess it slipped my mind, you know, being shot and dying at the time." I said with a blank look to the scientist.

"And you think that qualifies him to be trustworthy?" John questioned with a harsh tone, I could tell he was pissed off with everyone siding in favor of letting us help Ladon but he was just going to have to deal with it.

"Maybe not with Atlantis' secrets," I shot back, trying to keep my tone light. "But enough to let him come here and have us hear him out."

"He say's he's alone and he's willing to be searched," Elizabeth said.

I watched as John shook his head, something popping into his train of thought, "Wait a minute. We should be dealing with Lorne and his team—find out what happened to them." I suddenly felt guilty, I had been indeed focused on the whole Ladon situation that Lorne's demise had quickly slipped my mind, I felt like a terrible friend.

"Teyla and Ronon will continue with that investigation," Elizabeth said finally. "And you can join them once you finish up with this."

John's hazel gaze stared round at all of us, he was weighing the outcome in his head as he finally sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Alright." He turns his attention to Rodney, "Get a MALP ready with a life signs detector. I'm not sending my team in blind."

Elizabeth nods in agreement, "Let's get ready then, we've got a lot to do."

* * *

I sat next to Rodney, leaning over slightly so that I could look at the screen, which showed Ladon as the MALP went through the Stargate. The Genii deserter knelt to the ground with his hands folded behind his head, staring into the barrel of the MALP's camera.

" _As I'm sure your machine has already determined, I am unarmed and alone. You can go ahead and send your team to search me,"_ Ladon said.

"Go ahead," I heard John say to his team from behind me.

"Yes, sir," the man replied, heading off with his team of four. I watched them go through the gate as they appeared on the camera. Ladon gave them a nod as Chuck turned off the MALP and had it come back through the gate. I heard John move off as I suddenly jumped up from my chair and followed him, I wasn't going to start anything with him, I just wanted to be present when Ladon was brought in to the city. I followed behind John as we descended the stairs together, no words passed between us but I could tell there was a slight tension between us, I guessed it was from what happened up in the conference room.

It was a few minutes later when the security team came back through the gate, Ladon in tow as the scientist gave the room a once over, his gaze finally settling on John as he approached him.

"He's clean, sir," the security team leader stated to John.

"What, no ZPM?" John asked Ladon as I realized then that he did indeed not have the ZPM with him.

Ladon smirked, "I sent it to another planet for safe keeping. How stupid do you think I am?" Ladon finally saw me standing a few feet behind John as he grinned, "Ah. It's good to see you again, Mia."

"It's because of her vouching for you that you're standing here," John said, drawing Ladon's gaze away from me and back to him.

"Really?" He said in surprise.

"She seems to think we can trust you." John said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Ladon chuckled, "I think Mia can speak for herself, Major."

I saw John's jaw lock in irritation as I stepped forward, putting myself between the two, "Think of this as thanks for saving my life." I said to him.

"Of course," Ladon said courteously.

"And from what I remember I gave you a pretty good crack on the head last time we met," John said with a look that said he was proud of what he did.

"I've been plagued with headaches ever since," Ladon retorted. I tried to keep my smirk under control.

"You're just saying that to be nice, what do you want?" John asked, his tone changing drastically as Ladon changed also. The jesting attitude from both men disappeared as Ladon set his face into a frown.

"I'll only talk with Weir."

"Do I make you nervous?" John asked, a glint in his eye.

"Not at all, Major. I'm just not interested in talking to the errand boy."

"That's Lieutenant Colonel Errand Boy to you," John smirked back at Ladon. The look both men were giving each other could freeze hell over, twice. Ladon gave John a tight smile as he turned his radio on, "Doctor Weir. We have Ladon."

" _What has he said?"_ I heard her reply in my own radio earpiece.

"Not much, apparently he doesn't like me," John stated, sending Ladon a grimace as he faced away from the Genii scientist. Ladon chuckled quietly.

" _Ok, take him to my office."_

"Your office? Really?" John asked, surprised.

" _Really, Colonel. I'm on my way."_ Elizabeth ordered as John nodded to the security detail to take him upstairs. Ladon was ushered away as John stood at the bottom of the stairs, following Ladon with his eyes with his arms crossed and his brow furrowed. I stepped up next to him, mimicking his stance.

"You seem pretty friendly with him." John stated, not looking in my direction, he was mad.

"If we want Ladon to hand over the ZPM, it can't hurt to be friendly or he might think something is up," I explained, turning my face to stare up at him. He finally looked my way, meeting my gaze as I waited for him to speak.

"Just don't trust him too much, he's still a sneaky sonofabitch."

I cracked a smile, "Course not, I'm not an idiot." I said to him. John managed a half smirk as he patted me on the shoulder gently.

"Let's head up, I'm dying to know about what Ladon wants."

"Of course you are, how could you resist pissing off the one person who could supply us with a ZPM." John sent me a playful glare as I laughed at his expression.

* * *

Elizabeth met us at the staircase as she peered into her office from the control room, she looked round at John and I, "He still hasn't said anything?" She asked us. I shook my head in time with John.

"Nope, lips are sealed tight." John mocked slightly as Elizabeth sighed.

"Well, let's get this over with then." John and I followed her into her office, Ladon's head turned in her direction when she appeared as he tried to stand up from the chair.

"Doctor Weir. Thank you for your—" Ladon stopped as the security team leader placed his hand on his shoulder, pushing him back into his chair as Ladon stares at him incredulously.

"What do you want for the ZPM?" Elizabeth asks harshly. Wow, she really doesn't play around.

Ladon smirked, settling back into his chair, "You people aren't much for small talk, are you?"

"Not with criminals, no." Elizabeth shot back.

Ladon looked grim, "As a member of Kolya's strike team, I was following orders. I harbor no ill will towards you or your people."

"That's nice," John said sarcastically.

"It's the truth," Ladon retorted with a glare in his direction.

"What do you want for it?" Elizabeth asked again.

Ladon leaned back casually, "I need about a hundred machine guns, a couple dozen grenades and any C4 that you have to spare."

"I feel like I've heard that before." I said with an eye roll in Ladon's direction.

"Sounds like you're having a party." John smirked.

Elizabeth didn't look convinced in the slightest. "Explain. How is turning you into a threat in our best interest?"

"The real threat are the Genii," Ladon accused. "Their nuclear weapons are fully operational and it is my considered belief that they will soon begin using them as a first-strike offensive weapon." Now my interest was peaked. "Not just against the Wraith but human populations as well. Now, you give me and my men the arms we need, you'll never have to worry about the Genii again."

This sounded awfully like a—

"You're planning a coup." Elizabeth stated in revelation.

"Yes," Ladon nodded, "And you're going to help me—"

"That's bold—" I commented.

Ladon continued as if I hadn't interrupted him, "Cowen has led our people for too long. Yes, it's true, he has made the Genii a force to be reckoned with, but the Cowen of the past bear little resemblance to the Cowen who's in power now."

"How so?" Elizabeth enquired.

"He's become obsessed with uniting the galaxy under a single ruler."

"And that would be him," John drawled.

Ladon nodded, "He thinks it's the only chance we have of defeating the Wraith."

"Whether the galaxy likes it or not," Elizabeth said.

Ladon looks down for a second, then met Elizabeth's gaze, "Commander Kolya was the only Genii who could stand up to him, keep him under control. He went missing several months ago. We suspect Cowen had him murdered."

"Well," I said with a horrible smirk, "Can't say I'm sorry about that. The guy did try to kill me—twice."

"You can't prove it though?" Elizabeth asked.

"Not yet."

"And in Kolya's absence?"

Ladon grinned widely, "Our people were looking for leadership. They looked to me." He held his arms out like he was saying he was the messiah returned.

"Get to the part where you find the ZPM," John said in a firm tone, done with the theatrics.

Ladon nodded slightly, "Kolya often spoke about the Brotherhood of the Fifteen, the last mission you encountered him, no?"

John scoffed, "The last time he tried to kill us, yes."

"Finding resources for the resistance has been next to impossible. We have a few rifles, limited ammunition, nowhere near enough to stage a rebellion."

"That's a shame," I said with a smirk. Ladon ignored me. Elizabeth gave me a stern look as I backed down, hadn't I been the one to tell John to be on Ladon's side? Now I was contradicting myself.

"So you thought if you found a ZPM, we would give you everything you needed," Elizabeth stated.

Ladon shrugged, his tone aloof, "It's very hard to find trading partners who don't fear the Genii. Cowen has spies all over the galaxy. I figured you'd be more than willing to help if we could give you something of value."

"How do we know you're going to be better than Cowen?" John questioned.

Ladon held his gaze for a few seconds, trying to look understanding, "Look, I know you don't trust me, but if Cowen uses his new atomic weapons to enslave other worlds, then the Genii are no better then the Wraith. Now, you can have your ZPM, but you must help me stop that from happening." There was silence in the room as Ladon looked between John and Elizabeth respectfully. From their expressions I could see that they were both still unsure about this but didn't want to make a decision in front of Ladon.

"Even if we do agree to this," Elizabeth said, not confirming anything though, "How do you know that you can pull this off? What happens to us if you fail and Cowen finds out we were in on it?"

She had a good point. Ladon obviously realized this as he pursed his lips, "I assure you, we won't fail. I've been planning this for months, so have my men."

"I'm sure you guys said the same thing about the raid on Atlantis," John remarked with a smirk as Ladon furrowed his brow. He looked impatient.

"I of all people know the risks if we fail," he said sternly. "I am willing to take that chance for the good of my people and the people of this galaxy, are you?" I glanced over at Elizabeth, she was holding Ladon's gaze, she wasn't giving much away and even I couldn't read her expression, and Elizabeth was normally an open book. Her gaze flicked over to me.

"Major, would you please escort Ladon into the control room, Colonel Sheppard and I need to discuss this."

I nodded my head, "Yes, Ma'am." I motioned for Ladon to stand, he held out his hand for Elizabeth to shake as she stared at it with a blank look, Ladon shrugged and turned to me. I walked ahead of him, the two security men following after Ladon as we walked through the control room and down to the stairs. Once we were at the bottom I turned and faced Ladon, he was staring at me.

"They don't want to help me," he said as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Of course they don't want to help you, you tried to take this city once."

"You have already made peace with Cowen over this, why can't you understand that I am only trying to help your people and mine?" Ladon questioned.

I frowned in disapproval, "The peace we have with Cowen is on a very short leash, and any little thing could upset the balance we have with them. We have to tread carefully about this, I'm hoping you will understand that," I said with a pointed look.

Ladon sighed, "You're right." He paused and smiled kindly at me, "You have a good heart, Major."

"It get's me into trouble sometimes," I said with a laugh.

Ladon returned the laugh, "It is a quality that is lacking in the Genii."

"You must be really desperate if you're flinging out all the complements," I smirked at him and crossed my arms. I sighed, "Look, Ladon. It's not that we don't trust you, it's just that we've got to think about the bigger picture here, but I'll see what I can do with Doctor Weir."

"It would mean a lot to me," Ladon returned with a nod.

"What would?" John suddenly appeared by my side, a tense smirk on his face as he stared down Ladon.

"The Major has said she'll try and convince Doctor Weir to help me," Ladon replied.

"Not convince, just talk her through everything," I defended. Hoping Ladon and John weren't getting the wrong idea with me.

"And on that note," John snapped. "We're going to need some more time to talk this through, we're going to send you back to the planet while we decide, we'll be in contact." John said with a curt nod.

Ladon bowed in respect, "I do appreciate everything you have done for me, Colonel. Even letting me come here and listen to me was more then I expected from you."

"Don't get your hopes up, we still haven't made a decision yet."

"Of course," Ladon smirked. The gate connected behind Ladon as he fare welled both John and me as he turned and disappeared through the gate, the gate shut down as I faced John.

"Are you ok? You're acting very hostile towards Ladon," I stated an observation as John folded his arms over his chest and glared at the spot Ladon had been standing on.

"I don't trust him."

"I get that, I'm not stupid. There's more though," I said, pressing him. John faced me, his eyes darting around the room quickly, there weren't many people in the control room anymore, mostly just the technicians up the stairs.

"I just don't want you acting all chummy around the guy. He may be trying to stage a coup but he's still Genii."

"I'm not being chummy!" I exclaimed in a hiss, lowering my voice.

John rolled his eyes at me, "Oh really? Then what was all that laughing and giggling you did? And offering to talk to Weir."

"I wasn't _giggling_ ," I said with a sneer. I suddenly realized why John was being so weird about this. "Are you jealous of Ladon?" I asked him.

"What?" He said, his brow furrowing. "This is more than just jealously, Mia. I'm trying to protect you."

"Protect me from what, Ladon? He's a scientist, with no real weapons training, I'm pretty sure I could take him blindfolded," I said with a deadpan look.

John shrugged his shoulders, "You seem to have a tendency to—attract the wrong sort of people sometimes, I'm just making sure that you don't get hurt."

My eyebrows rose up into my hairline, "You're one to talk, you're always the one who have women throwing themselves at you; and so you're saying you're the wrong person for me too?" I smirked as he rolled his eyes at me once more.

"I'm definitely bad for you, but that's not the point. I just want to make sure that Ladon doesn't get any ideas about you helping him, he might take it the wrong way."

"I'm sure he'll get the idea if I punch him in the nose," I laughed as John managed to crack a smile at my joke.

* * *

 **Phew, I actually loved writing this chapter, interactions with Ladon was so much fun and I hope I did keep him in character with the original dialogue that I snuck in there!**

 **Also, I'm quiet aware that some of you were kind of displeased with how the previous episode played out, i was too. I remember writing this during the middle of my prac at school so I know it wasn't some of my best work and was very rushed then. I do apologise for it not being my best work but I do hope I've made it up with this chapter and the chapters to come, I do have a lot planned for the season finale!  
**

 **REPLIES**

 **teekee hut** \- I'm so happy you were excited for me updating! I was honestly so stoked to be updating again after so long! It felt weird not updating knowing that the season wasn't over yet! I get that you were on the fence about this episode, it honestly wasn't my best work, I know that i was very stressed and tired from prac the week I wrote that chapter and I didnt really have time to re-write the chapter so I just left it knowing that I was gonna get some tiny hate for it. But yes we do pick and choose, and Mia will be having a big part in the episode Michael so get ready for that one!

 **Adela** \- Thank you!

 **Julka212** \- Hahaha I can just picture Atlantis burning around them and Mia and Caldwell drinking tea together and chatting casually while everything goes to shit around them xD It was nice to have them bond a bit after all the angst i put them through. That's totally ok! I made you all wait almost 3 weeks for my stupid ass! I hope you enjoyed this chapter more then the last one!

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Thank you! And yes it did me the world a good!


	62. Emergence - Chapter 62

**What's this, an update on an actual friday and sort of on time? The shock! Hope you all had a good week guys and I hope you enjoy this chapter, some funny moments between Rodney and Mia and Mia and Ladon again! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"Be very, very quiet. It's ZPM hunting time," I said gleefully as I ducked behind Rodney.

"Oh, and how long did you work on that one?" Rodney hissed back at me, tossing a glare over his shoulder at me.

"Longer then I want to admit," I replied with a grimace as John sent us both a look to shut our mouths. I complied as I slid on the safety glasses and pulled the Wraith stunner out of the pouch and held it up.

We were placed outside of Ladon's warehouse on another planet, apparently Cowen already knew about Ladon's defection and we were now about to ambush him and take the ZPM for ourselves and stop Ladon's coup, strengthening our bond with the Genii we already have a truce with. I just hoped it was all going to work out. I was excited to stun some people and crack some skulls if need be, I hadn't really had any fighting action in a while and I was getting desperate.

" _Colonel?"_ I heard Elizabeth's voice come over the radio.

"Go ahead," John replied from in front of me.

" _You have a go."_

That meant that our plan worked on their end, we tricked Ladon into bringing a dozen of his people to Atlantis to help carry the supplies, but in reality they were being detained right now so that their man power was diminished slightly so that they were easier to overpower.

"Understood. Alright," He said to us, glancing over his shoulder. "Use non-lethal force wherever possible, so men with stunners you take point. That being said, if they engage us, do what you need to do." He gave me a curt nod as I returned it. I moved up to the front of the line, there was no way in hell I was being at the back, I wanted to take down as many Genii as I could, I didn't know when I'd be able to do this again.

I watched as John tossed a flash bang through the high window above us, I waited until the grenade went off before I used my leg and kicked down the door to the warehouse. I saw about six Genii soldiers stumbling around, holding their eyes and some reaching out to the walls as I aimed my stunner and began taking them down, the men to my left and right doing the same. All six went down as I hurried over and collected their weapons and stored them away in my vest pockets.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I glanced back and saw John motioning me, "With me." He said quietly as I nodded and followed after him with Rodney and another marine. Rodney is holding a life signs detector as he motions to John over to the right. We stealthily walk deeper into the warehouse as suddenly a Genii runs for cover, John and Rodney both shoot at the man, the Genii going down.

"Clear! Start doing a sweep of the room," John ordered as he looked behind at me and the other marine. "You three with me. We're finding Ladon."

"See how I almost stunned that guy?" Rodney exclaimed, the shock in his voice.

"I must have missed it," John said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but if he was like a step to the right, I would've stunned him for sure!"

"Almost being the key word there, Rodney," I muttered under my breath.

John wasn't interested, "Good for you."

"It's this way," Rodney said as he pointed off to the left as we followed behind closely.

We left the main building of the warehouse, walking through smaller buildings until we finally stopped outside another part of the compound, the room looked like a large hangar of sort, with two large doors on either side and windows around the top part. In my observation it was a pretty unprotected place for Ladon to be hiding out in, I expected him to be somewhere else that could be fortified a bit better. John, Rodney and myself crouch behind a brick wall with a wired fence as Rodney points to the room. Rodney then proceeds to do some weird sign as he extended one arm, his finger pointing up as his other hand circles around it.

"One tango, middle of the room," he whispers as I see the blank look that John gives the scientist. "What, isn't that right?" He asks. John shakes his head at him, a grimace on his face as I hold back myself from slapping my forehead in disbelief.

"I never want to be seen with you again," I hissed at Rodney as he shot me a look.

"I tried, ok!"

John silences us with a look as I comply immediately. John signals to the other marines to take up the other side, we were going to storm the place from both ends, a pincer attack as John looks at me, his expression was asking me if I was ready as I nodded silently. John motions for the marines to head in as I grip the heavy metal door and pull with all my might, the doors both squeaked as we ran in. My stunner was aimed at Ladon who was sitting comfortably in a chair in the center of the room. His foot was up on a metal box and an apple and knife in his hand as he cut a piece off and plopped it into his mouth. I frowned at the scene before me; this was _way_ too easy for us, and why was Ladon so calm about this?

"Colonel Sheppard, what a surprise," Ladon says in a tone that indicates he definitely wasn't surprised at all.

"Drop it," John motions to the knife in his hand as Ladon holds it up, a teasing smile on his face.

"Alright," he drops it on the ground. "Feel safer?"

"A little bit," John replies sarcastically. "Is that it?" John asks about the box under his foot.

"It is," said Ladon.

"Slide it over," John demanded. With ease, Ladon slides the box with his foot as it glides across the room to John who stops it with his hand. John kneels down, his eyes still on Ladon as he goes to open the box.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! It could be booby trapped and blow up in your face!" Rodney exclaimed suddenly, causing me to jump and want to throttle him at putting that kind of thoughts in our heads at a time like this.

A scoff from Ladon had me looking over at him, "Relax, Sheppard. I have no interest in killing you."

John stares at the box for a few seconds; worried that it might actually blow up in his face as he quickly opens the lid. I let out a sigh of relief at the fact that the box hadn't blown up. John reaches into the box, pulling out the dull orange coloured ZPM as I could see Rodney practically jumping on the spot at seeing the power source as John places it back into the box and slides it over to Rodney beside me.

"It's all yours, one ZPM." Ladon says with a smirk. I was relived, now we could get out of here and hand Ladon over to Cowen. "One that's probably been out of power for a thousand years."

Excuse me?

Without warning, the doors slammed shut and a hissing sound filled the room. A sickly smell filled my nostrils as I felt myself loosing consciousness quickly. _Fucking bastard!_ I hissed in my head as I felt control of my limbs leave me as I crumpled to the floor.

* * *

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was lying on a cold, hard floor. My head was killing me and my mouth felt like the Sahara desert. I groaned, moving my arms to my head as I pressed my hands against my temple, hoping to relive some of the pain I was feeling as I blinked my eyes open slowly. My vision was blurry as I tried to focus on anything, the room I was in was dark, I could hear hushed whispers as something moved into my vision. I squinted, rubbing my eyes as I managed to make out the face looming over me.

I frowned, "Well if I'm seeing you then I must be dead," I muttered to the ghost of Lorne. He smirked, extending a hand for me.

"You aren't dead, Major. Neither am I," Lorne said matter of fact as I stared at him like he had two heads, well, that wasn't entirely a lie, I was seeing two of him right now.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, holding my head once more as I took ahold of Lorne's hand as he pulled me up. I glanced around the cell. "Reed? Harris?" I spotted the other members of my old team as I walked over to them, my vision finally returning to me. The headache was still in full force and my throat was slowly dying but I could walk in a straight line and nobody had twins anymore, which was good. The memories suddenly came back to me, "Ladon double-crossed us, didn't he?"

"You betcha'," Lorne said with a grimace.

I look around at the three of them, "Can you explain to me how you're here and why you aren't burnt bodies in the infirmary?"

"It was all the Genii, they were the ones who attacked us, they stunned us, brought us here and began taking our blood."

"Your blood?" I exclaimed in disgust and confusion.

Lorne shrugged, "Yeah, I heard that Ladon guy talking about our Ancient gene or something." I pulled a face at that news. It didn't surprise me that much; the Genii were fascinated with out technology so it should be obvious that they would need the gene to use it. Ladon was a cunning little bitch, I'll give him that, he even fooled me with his whole 'save the galaxy' plight. I scanned around the room, seeing the other members of our raid team slowly waking up, I spotted John and Rodney together as John helped him sit up. I forgot about Lorne as I went over to them. John supporting Rodney as his wide eyes darted around the room.

"What the hell happened?" Rodney asked nervously.

"We got gassed," John explained as I crouched down to them. John and I exchanged glances as he look pleased that I was all right.

"Are we in some sort of trouble?" Rodney asked. If he weren't still waking up from the gas I would've smacked him around the head for such a stupid and obvious question.

John looked at him incredulously, "Was it the gas or the prison cell that was your first clue?"

I smirked. It was short lived as I heard the cell door open from behind me, I turned around, seeing a Genii soldier opening up the door as Ladon steps in, a gun in his hand as he points it at John, "Times up." He stated as I looked from Ladon to John, who was staring at him with a hateful glare. I went to move in front of John, but his hand found my arm as he kept me in place with an iron grip, I wasn't moving anywhere. I tried to wriggle out of his grip but he stopped my with a stern look. I relented, looking back over at Ladon as the scientist continued to stare at John, he looked conflicted though, something I had only seen once back in Atlantis when Ladon had decided to defy Kolya and get me the bandages for my gunshot wound.

"Weir says your Doctor Beckett can cure the people I sent through the gate. Is that true?" Ladon asks.

John's expression doesn't change, "Beckett's the best doctor in two galaxies. If there's a cure, he's got it."

Ladon mulls this information over for a few seconds, he lowers the weapon, turning to his entourage, "We're letting them go." I shake my head in confusion, what the hell is going on? Are we dying or aren't we? Ladon nods for us to follow him as John tugs me up and out of the room with him, dropping my arm once we're out of the cell, I keep next to him as Ladon falls into step with me on the other side, so that I was sandwiched in between the two men, "Hidden away at the bottom of this building is a nuclear device."

"How'd you get your hands on that?" John asks.

Ladon chuckled, giving him a side glance, "You forget I'm the chief scientist, I made it." he said proudly.

"That doesn't make me feel better," I mutter to him.

"You're going to start your coup!" Rodney exclaims from behind me.

Ladon nodded in affirmation, "I needed Cowen and his elite guard together in one place. I knew the chance at some puddle jumpers would get him here."

"Good one," John scoffed.

"Most of my men are waiting for me on our homeworld. Tonight, the leadership of our people changes hands."

John stopped Ladon, facing him, "You were just going to leave us here to be vaporized with the others?"

"Yes I was," Ladon stated, not even sugar coting it. "Things have changed. Let's go."

"Well, I for one will be giving Carson my thanks for saving our lives." I said to both men. Ladon chuckled as he glanced over at me.

"I truly wished you hadn't been apart of the team, Mia. Even after everything I didn't want you to be caught in the crossfire."

"How charming," I drawled, rolling my eyes. "I'll send you a gift basket on my day off."

* * *

We walked through the compound, our escort holding their guns out, pretending just in case we came across some of Cowen's men, we were almost at a double doors when two men stepped out, freezing at the sight of us, they regained their composure and aim their weapons at us. Ladon steps forward, his hand raised, "It's alright. We're just escorting these prisoners." He said calmly and surely.

The guards in front of us lower their weapons, just as two of Ladon's men shoot them both in the chest. I watch in shock, I mean, I know Ladon planted a bomb under their feet, but it was still a shock for me to watch Genii kill each other. Two of Ladon's men rush to the door, poking their heads through, seeing if the coast is clear for us as they nod back at him.

"There's a hidden passage this way," Ladon pointed to the door his two men were still guarding. "We shouldn't run into any more resistance." John nods to him and sends me a look that I return; I hoped that we weren't going to be double-double-crossed. We entered into a large room as Ladon led us over to a series of metal shelving that he ordered his men to move, they complied. As the shelving was moved I could see a passageway that had been mined through the wall.

"We're right by a mountain side, this passageway was drilled months ago in preparation. It leads to a building just by the gate." Ladon explained as he handed John a small flashlight and passed a few more out to his men and ours. We entered the tunnel as John flicked on the flashlight as we walked in single file, Ladon leading, John behind him and me behind John. Rodney was chatting Lorne's ear off by the sounds of it.

"So can you explain to me what the hell has happened, why is Lorne and his team here, why are you negotiating for puddle jumpers?" I asked in the cramped space.

"I've been trying to create a drug that can imitate the Ancient gene that you and the others posses," Ladon explained from up ahead, his voice echoed around me. "To do that we needed live specimens, we knew that your teams frequented the planet you call P4X-177 so we decided to kidnap them and replace their bodies with people from our world who had died from the radiation poisoning."

"That's just wrong and gross," I commented with a scowl.

"It was Cowen's idea, not mine," Ladon defended. "After that we planned this whole thing to lure you here and keep you here in exchange for the puddle jumpers."

"They wanted one puddle jumper for each of us," John added.

"I doubt that went down well with Elizabeth," I said, chuckling.

Ladon returned the laughter, "She behaved exactly as I thought she would."

A question nagged at me as I furrowed my brow, "So you said you wanted the Ancient gene, that means you took some of our blood, right?"

"Yes," Ladon confirmed, "But that samples I took from all of you are still in one of my labs here on this planet, they will be destroyed with the explosion."

"Good to know," John muttered as I smirked at his tone.

"It's just up here," Ladon said to us. We exited the tunnel into a little run down shack as he opened up the door, and true enough we were right by the Stargate. Rodney hurried over to it first, getting his IDC off one of the soldiers as he began dialing the gate. I walked over to him and waited patiently for the gate to connect.

Rodney entered his IDC code as I glanced over my shoulder at John, he was still standing near Ladon and motioned for me to go on ahead with Rodney as I nodded and went through the gate with him first.

* * *

Emerging into Atlantis had me breathing out a sigh of relief, I spot Elizabeth immediately, she was looking frantic as she raced down the steps. "Rodney!" She called his name. Behind me, the Genii soldiers handed over their weapons as our men took them and walked them over to the sides.

"It's Ladon. He's letting us go in exchange for his people," Rodney explained as Elizabeth reeled back in shock.

"Ladon's in charge?"

"Yeah, he's about to be," Rodney muttered.

"He really was planning a coup," Elizabeth mused to herself.

Rodney scoffed at her, "Apparently we're a part of the plan." He stated in loathing as Elizabeth stared at the gate. I turned and watched as Lorne stepped through with Reed and Harris on his heels, Elizabeth walked over to him, a kind smile on her face.

"Major Lorne, I'm glad to see you and your team in one piece."

"Than you, Ma'am," Lorne nodded in thanks. "For a while there I thought I was never going to get out of that place." Reed and Harris grumbled in agreement as I heard two more people come through the Stargate, I spotted Ladon and John coming through.

" _Ladon, come in!_ " I heard Cowen's voice coming from a small radio on the scientist's wrist.

"This is Ladon," he replied to him.

" _What's going on?"_ Cowen demanded.

Ladon did look remorseful as he spoke to Cowen, "I'm sorry it had to come to this, Cowen. You have served our people well."

" _What have you done?"_ I heard Cowen's panicked voice in the radio as John looked up at the technicians on the balcony.

"Shield up!" Ladon and John walk a few paces just as the blast reaches the gate shield. The gate shuts down as Ladon beelines it straight to Elizabeth, concern on his face.

"Now please, I would like to see my sister," Ladon asks desperately as Elizabeth nods and leads him away from the room.

* * *

I stood before Ladon, his back to the gate as he met my gaze, "I'll keep your sister company while she's here," I told him kindly as Ladon smiled.

"Thank you, I'm sure she'll appreciate it, as do I."

"It's no big deal, I can probably imagine she'll be confused as to what's going on now."

"Yes," Ladon said, "It's a joyous day for us all, Cowen has finally been defeated, and peace can once again return to the Genii."

"Let's hope it stays that way," I said, hopefully as Ladon chuckled.

"I'll try my best," he paused for a few seconds as the gate started to dial behind him. "Maybe one day the truce between our two people can turn back into an alliance?"

"Maybe," I said with a smile. "It all depends on you holding up your end of the bargain. We'll drop in from time to time, see how things are going, offer up any help you might need?" I shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'd like that," said Ladon. He shifted on his feet as the gate connected. The room lit up in the familiar blue glow. "Will you be on one of the teams?" He asked as I felt my eyes widen a fraction. My face heated up at his words, understanding what Ladon was implying as I laughed it off and rubbed the back of my head.

"Well—maybe, I guess," I spluttered out. "You should know that I am, uh," I paused, not sure on how to approach the subject. I mean, what if Ladon was just being kind and actually wanted my friendship, not something romantically, then I was going to be so embarrassed.

"You're with someone." Ladon stated, shocking me as I my bottom lip and nodded. Ladon smiled, "I figured as much. No matter, I wish you all the best."

"I will come see you though, you did save my life, even if you did try to kill me first," I joked with sarcasm as Ladon returned my laugh.

"I'll see you around, Major."

"Likewise, Ladon," I waved him off as I watched him enter the Stargate with his Genii soldiers. The gate shut down as I sighed and glanced up towards the balcony, John was standing up there, leaning on the railing as I sent him a smile that he returned weakly. I headed over to the stairs, John meeting me halfway, "Well, I put him in his place and I didn't even have to punch him in the nose," I said proudly to him as he smirked at me.

"He figured it out on his own, didn't he?"

"Oh, yeah," I admitted. "But I was in the middle of telling him when he made his assumptions, but I guess you were right, I do attract the wrong sort of people sometimes…"

"Sometimes?" John exclaimed in a joking tone. We reached the bottom of the stairs as I rolled my eyes at him and shoved him playfully on the shoulder. He chuckled as we left the control room and started walking through the corridor, "I guess that means we'll be seeing more of Ladon Radim," John said unenthusiastically as I laughed at his expression.

"Yep, and I have the wonderful job of keeping his sister company while she heals from her surgery."

"I bet she'll love that," John said sarcastically as I shoved him once more, he held up his hands in surrender, "I just mean you have the tendency to talk someone's ear off when given the opportunity."

"I think you're mistaking me for Rodney there," I sent him a pointed glare as John tried to hold in his smirk. I sighed in exasperation, "Let's just head to the mess hall, I'm starving and Ronon promised to show me the pictures that he and Teyla found on the planet. I feel famous, having my picture out there."

"You do realize the sole purpose of that was to kidnap us, right?"

I shrugged, "I've been kidnapped before, it's not so bad once you get used to it."

"I'm not sure you should be getting used to it," John muttered under his breath, but I still heard him.

"At the rate I'm going, I'm sure I'll be kidnapped at least one more time in my life, best not to dwell on the fact too much, you know, carpe dion and all that," I waved my hand dismissively.

John laughed, "I think the word you're looking for is carpe _diem_ ," John emphasized as I shrugged.

"Well, whatever it is, you get my point."

"Surprisingly, yes, as much as I hate to admit it," he grumbled. I felt a smile creep over my face as we walked side by side together.

* * *

"Oh damn," I muttered sourly as I stared at the pictures on the mess hall table. John, Teyla, Ronon and Lorne joined me as they all glanced over at me. I held up the picture of me that Ronon and Teyla had acquired on P4X-177. The pictures had been circulated on a few planets it seemed.

"What?" John asked me with a smirk. I pointed to my picture, it was a sort of close up, with me looking over to the left, a slight frown on my face as I seemed to be talking to someone next to me, with the frown evident, I guessed it was Rodney.

"I'm all for having my picture taken," I said in vain, flipping my hair over my shoulder as Teyla and Lorne exchanged glance, "But the least they could've done was get my good side." John chuckled, rolling his eyes slightly at me as I grinned over at him.

* * *

 **And another episode done! I know this one was a bit on the short side but the next 3 chapters are pretty long as we dive into the Michael episode! Finally, the long awaited episode that starts the chain reaction of shit hitting the fan! The Michael episode has probably been my favourite to write this season, so much drama and angst in it woohoo! Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and i'll see you all next week!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Thank you! Yes John is a very jealous guy when it comes to Mia, especially in this chapter and the one's withe Michael, you'll find out why very soon!

 **GoldenGod48** \- I loved Mia talking with Ladon, he was so much fun to write and I was so sad that we never saw him again after this episode in the series, maybe I'll bring him back for something later...Yep I know when their relationship gets outed. It'll be happening very soon, end of season 2 ish and early season 3 parts, be prepared!

 **Julka212** \- John is such a cute jealous when it comes to Mia, but we do see a bit of a badass Mia and John in the next couple of chapters so get excited for that baby! Ronon is amazing trying to act all tough, I was thinking about having Mia hit him and then dragging him back to the infirmary but thought against it seeing as it was a bit mean, but you can picture that in your head, I know i do! xD Thank you, hope you enjoyed!


	63. Emergence - Chapter 63

**Hi guys! I was having an issue with the site last night and couldn't update, but everything seems to be sorted now! We're diving in the Michael episode now, it spans about 3 chapters and this one is sort of the lead up to the actual episode.**

 **And just a heads up; Mia is a bit bratty in the chapter, you'll see why but just be prepared for this.**

* * *

**Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"I've completed the last of my tests, and as far as I can tell. It's complete." Carson said to the group of us. I was standing at the back of the room, leaning against the wall. John, Rodney, Teyla, Ronon and Elizabeth were sat in front of me as Carson pointed to the screen, which was apparently showing me something.

"Are you sure?" John asked uncertainly. I looked on in puzzlement.

"What are you talking about?" I asked the room.

"Oh, that's right," Carson said, remembering something. "You've been helping the Genii with rehabilitation. I've finally finished my work on the retrovirus."

I stood, dumbfounded, "You were still working on that thing?" I asked him. It was true that I had been quite busy over the past couple of weeks, mainly helping Ladon's sister with her rehabilitation process, getting her healthy and back on her feet, I had been out of the loop for the most part but I couldn't believe that Carson was still working on the retrovirus.

"It can help us turn the tide of war against the Wraith." Elizabeth stated to me as I walked around the tables and sat down opposite them.

"Need I remind everyone that the last time we had this thing in circulation, we almost lost Colonel Sheppard," I reminded them all with narrowed eyes.

"The retrovirus was nowhere near completion back then," Carson argued with me. "It was never meant to be administered to a human anyway, the effects that happened to Colonel Sheppard were from the Iratus bug reacting with his human cells."

"I know all of that already, but still, two people died because of that."

"We're well aware of that," John said out loud to me as I turned my attention to him.

"And you still want to go through with this?" I said in outrage.

"If it means that we can be rid of the Wraith, then yeah, I'm all for it," John replied, matching my tone as I shook my head. I couldn't believe them all; this was ridiculous.

"What happens after?" I asked. I met their gazes; all were frowning in confusion. "Look," I started, "I don't want to sound like I'm on their side, but we're talking about changing an entire species here."

"For the greater good," Rodney added.

"For us you mean," I corrected him.

"It's for survival," John stated.

I shook my head, "For our _convenience_. We're doing this for us, because we don't want to have to deal with them anymore."

"Of course we don't want to have to deal with them, they kill us for fun!" Rodney argued.

"And to live." I added on. Rodney sent me a glare. I looked around at all of their faces again, seeing the trepidation and worry about my opinion. I sighed. "I'm not trying to be a Wraith sympathizer here, I'm probably one of the last people to do that, I've lost practically my entire family to the Wraith, but we have to look at the bigger picture—"

"The bigger picture is that if this works, we wont have to deal with the Wraith ever again," John interrupted me as I pressed my lips into a firm line in annoyance.

"What happens after their human?" I asked them all. "What then? There are probably _hundreds of thousands_ of them, if not millions. Do we really expect to be able to change them all? And what if we do, where would they go? How would they live? It's obvious that we wouldn't let them use any of their technology, and what planet would willingly house Wraith?"

"They wouldn't have to know that they were Wraith." Elizabeth stated.

"So lie to everyone then?" I confirmed with her.

"I get where you're coming from, Major." Elizabeth said to me, leaning on the table with her hands clasped in front of her. "I understand that this is risky, we don't even know if it will work yet; but isn't it worth trying to save this whole galaxy from their terror?"

"I want to save the galaxy just as much as everyone else," I said firmly. I hated how they were all assuming that I was against it, I wasn't against helping the galaxy, but I wanted them to realize that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park. "But the thing is, the Wraith are here. They are alive and so are we. They evolved just like we did, who are we to try and change that? What gives us the right to pick and choose?"

"It doesn't." Carson piped up, causing me to look over my shoulder at him. "The way I see it. This way sees both sides winning. The humans can finally live in peace and the Wraith no longer pose a threat."

"I agree with Carson," Elizabeth said; and I saw the others nod their heads in agreement also. "We're going to give this a try, I've already approved the mission for a locate and capture of a Wraith."

I sat there in disbelief, I could tell that the others thought I was insane for being against this plan, but I just didn't see this ending well or humanely. This was against every human practice in the two galaxies. I stood from the table, my chair kicking out slightly from the force of me standing up quickly, "If we do this. How does this make us better then the Genii _or_ the Wraith?" I snapped at them all as I removed myself from the room.

As I was leaving I heard Carson mutter, "That went well."

* * *

I found myself standing on the balcony outside of the control room, it was still midday, the wind around me was strong, but not enough to make me want to go back inside. I was annoyed at the others, I saw the positives from the retrovirus, and I would be glad if the Wraith never existed, but they did; and how did we have the right to do this?

I heard the door open from behind me, I didn't even look over my shoulder, I knew it was going to be John. He was probably coming to scold me for the attitude I gave him and Elizabeth in the conference room earlier.

"I know what you're going to say. I was out of line and I'll apologise to Weir and Carson later," I said with a sigh as I ran a hand through my hair.

When John didn't reply like I expected him to I glanced over my shoulder, surprised to see Ronon walking over to me. "Ronon!" I said in alarm. "Sorry, I didn't know it was you." I said to him as he came to a stop next to me, leaning on the railing and gazing down at the ocean below us.

"Don't." He grumbled.

"Don't what?" I asked him.

"Apologise." He stated as I frowned in confusion.

"What? You agree with me?" I asked him as Ronon continued to stare at the blue abyss.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't think we should try and turn them into something they're not. Once a Wraith always a Wraith."

"Why didn't you speak up in there? I looked like an idiot." I argued with him. Ronon didn't reply as I sighed, "I get that we want peace in the galaxy, but doing it this way doesn't feel right to me." Ronon grunted in response. I rolled my eyes at him as I smirked over at him, nudging him slightly in the ribs. "You're just worried that if we get rid of all the Wraith you wont have anything to kill anymore."

"No Wraith for me to hunt, then there's nothing left for me." Ronon muttered as I reeled back slightly. That was deep.

"Of course there is," I tried to persuade him. "You have all of us, and I'm pretty sure you could find some other activity or morsel to beat up."

Ronon scoffed, a ghost of a smirk on his face as the door opened up once more. Both of us turned at the same time, and this time it was John that came outside. His eyes darted between Ronon and I as he approached us. I faced away from him, staring out to the sea once more as Ronon cleared his throat and started to back away.

"I—uh…I'm going to go," Ronon muttered as I sent him a desperate look to not leave me alone with John, I could feel it in my bones that we were about to have an argument, and I really didn't want to fight with him right now. Even with my silent plea Ronon still left John and I alone out here as he came to stand next to me where Ronon had been standing minutes before.

"I want you to understand that I get where you're coming from," John said to me. "But you've got to understand that this could help everyone."

"I know, John." I said, facing him. "It would be amazing if the Wraith were gone, and I don't want you all thinking that I have a soft spot for them, I don't! I just can't see how we can do this."

"It's better than killing them." John said, causing me to pause and realize that he was right in that aspect. "This way, everyone lives."

"And what if people find out? Yes they'll be human but there isn't a soul in the galaxy that wouldn't love to see all the Wraith dead. Once they find out that the Wraith are now a defenseless population of humans what do you think will happen?"

"We'll protect them."

"For how long?" I retorted angrily. "When people begin to turn on us for protecting Wraith."

"It wont come to that."

"You don't know that."

"No, I don't," John admitted. "But it's called having faith."

I gritted my teeth and faced away from him. I pushed off the railing, giving John a final nod as I began to walk away, "Fine, have your faith; but I want no part in this." I said finally, leaving the balcony area and marching away.

* * *

John didn't come to my room last night. I rolled over onto my stomach and looked at the clock, it was early in the morning, earlier then I would normally wake up as I groaned and rubbed my eyes. My tiny bed felt huge without the extra body taking up the space as pushed myself up into a sitting position and stretched, yawning loudly.

I knew that we were going to a planet which had a reported Wraith cruiser on today for the capture mission. I knew I said I wanted no part in the mission but I wasn't about to let my team go by themselves into Wraith territory without me, even I wasn't going to participate in any of the retrovirus stuff I wanted to make sure that everyone was safe.

The mission wasn't until later in the day, so I decided to go for my morning run and then go find John after. I knew after being apart for the night for both of us to cool off and have some space that we'd both be levelheaded enough to talk about it again.

After showering and changing into my uniform I headed over to John's quarters, I ran my hand over the sensor, finding it locked as I tried again and waited for a few seconds. When he didn't come to the door I knocked loudly on the glass pane.

"Colonel?" I called out. Maybe he was still sleeping, it was only just gone eight now and it was a mission to get him out of bed most days. I received no reply yet again and thought maybe he was already up?

With that in mind I headed over to Teyla's quarters, if there was one person who I could talk to who wouldn't judge me for my opinion it would be Teyla. I waved my hand over her sensor, the door opened as I stepped into her room.

"Teyla?" I called out. I scanned her room, the bed was made and I could smell the lingering scent of her Athosian soaps coming from the bathroom. She was already awake. Maybe she was already at breakfast or sparring with Ronon?

I headed to the gym, it was on the way to the mess hall as I poked my head in and saw a few Marines running through some drills but I didn't see Teyla or Ronon or John in there. I didn't stay long as I walked into the mess hall, it wasn't very busy at this time of morning, a few scientists were here eating and chatting quietly as I headed over to one of the cleaners.

"Hey," I said to him as he finished wiping down some of the trays. He glanced up at me, recognizing me. "Have you seen either Colonel Sheppard or Teyla in here this morning already?" I asked him. He looked up for a second, seeming to recall something as he nodded.

"Yeah, he was here with Teyla, Ronon too. They left real quick though, I heard something about a mission."

I felt my heart drop. A mission?

"Thanks," I muttered weakly. He said goodbye to me as I turned and shuffled out of the mess hall. What mission would they have gone on? It couldn't be the Wraith mission would it? Why now? Weren't we meant to go later today? And why would they not tell me and take me?

I arrived at the control room, it was pretty quiet up here, only Chuck and a few other technicians sat around the consoles as I walked up to Chuck and leant on the other side of the console, "Hey, did Colonel Sheppard go on a mission this morning?" I asked him. Chuck nodded as I felt my stomach drop even further then before.

"He, Teyla, Ronon, Doctor McKay and Major Lorne's team went on the Wraith retrieval mission," Chuck informed me as I gritted my teeth.

"Why wasn't I informed of the mission?" I asked more to myself then to Chuck, but he replied anyway.

"Colonel Sheppard said that you knew, that you weren't apart of the team."

"Oh, he did, did he?" I snapped back with a glare. I saw Chuck look away nervously as I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "Sorry Chuck, I didn't mean to take it out on you. How long have they been gone?" I asked him politely.

"A couple hours now, hopefully they'll be back soon," Chuck said with a reassuring smile as I sighed and returned his smile, let's just hope they hadn't gotten themselves all killed.

The gate suddenly started dialing as the alarm blared through the room, I sent a look to Chuck, just what luck that they would be returning now. He smirked at me as I walked round and peered over his shoulder as he radioed Elizabeth about the incoming wormhole.

"Colonel Sheppard's IDC." Chuck stated to me as I tried to control my blatant anger. If John thought he was going to be off the hook for this stunt he pulled, he was dead wrong. Like I understand that I said I wanted no part of the experimentation part but to leave me out of the mission, and taking Rodney along no less! That was just an insult.

"Lower the shield for them." I said to Chuck, walking over to the stairs.

I faintly heard Chuck mutter under his breath, "This should be good." I tried not to smile at his words as I put on my angry face and headed down the stairs just as the two teams came through the gate. I noticed Ronon had an unconscious Wraith over his shoulder, but I quickly looked over at John as he saw me marching up to him.

I heard his signature, "Oh, crap."

"Have fun on your mission?" I said, fake cheerfully, placing my hands on my hips. I glared round at Teyla, Rodney, Lorne and lastly John; Ronon got a free pass this time.

"I can tell that you're mad." John stated carefully, stepping towards me as he motioned for Ronon and the other members of Lorne's team to take the Wraith away.

"Oh," I said, scoffing. "I'm not mad. I'm pissed off!" I yelled loudly. I saw Teyla and Rodney avert their gaze. "What the hell kind of stupid idea was it to leave me out of the mission?"

"You said yourself that you didn't want anything to do with it." John argued back, his brows furrowing.

"Of the experiments!" I retorted, raising my voice. I noticed that the security Marines had turned their attention to us, I knew that I shouldn't be causing a scene, I was a senior member of this expedition, and it didn't look good for me to question John's authority. "What do you think would happen when I found out that you all went on a mission infiltrating a Wraith cruiser without me? That I would gladly stand back and twiddle my thumbs?"

"It was my decision to remove you from this mission, _Major_ ," John said, emphasizing my rank, reminding me that we were in a public place, it wasn't the time for us to have a spat.

"It was a stupid decision."

"You are border lining insubordination." John threatened as I felt my stomach drop to my feet. I shut my mouth, realizing what I had done as I quickly glanced around the room; up on the balcony I saw the handful of technicians staring down at me, and the Marines were whispering among them. "If you have a problem with the way I run these missions then take it up with me in a mature manner, not shouting at me trying to get your point across. You're dismissed, major." John snapped as I continued to keep my trap shut, I had crossed the line; I knew I had but yet I kept going. I was an idiot. John had averted his gaze from me. I sent Teyla and Rodney and apologetic look as I saluted John and headed to the door. As I was leaving I heard Elizabeth finally arrive as she started to question them about the mission.

* * *

I was hunched over in my chair in the mess hall, swirling my soup around in the bowl as I sighed and leant my head on my hand.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I looked up; Lorne leaned on the back of the chair opposite me with a cautious smile, as if hoping I wouldn't be pissed off with him.

"I made a fool out of myself." I grumbled, sitting up straight in my chair and pushing the soup away from me, with my mood right now I didn't feel like ingesting anything.

"I'm not going to argue with that." Lorne agreed with a chuckle as I sent him a pointed look. Weren't friends supposed to make you feel better? Not make me feel like a horrible human being more so then I already did. Lorne took the seat across from me.

"I get why he took me off the team, but he could've at least told me personally, and changing the times so that I wouldn't find out, like come on." I groaned.

"Better to ask for forgiveness then permission." Lorne stated as I rolled my eyes at him.

"I get that I can be a bit…hardheaded—and…rash, but I'm still a member of that team, even if I don't agree with everything they do."

"Maybe the Colonel thought you'd try and—I don't know—"

"Sabotage the mission?" I cried out in outrage. I was frowning at Lorne as I managed to piece everything together, so that was why John didn't want me going, he thought that I would try and ruin everything!

"What?" Lorne said in confusion, "No! That's not what I meant."

"What else could it be, Lorne?" I growled at him. "It makes sense! How dare he…" I trailed off, gripping my spoon painfully in my hand.

"Maybe he thought that you would've wanted this. Don't take this the wrong way, but from what I heard you didn't exactly give this mission your blessing." Lorne stated, giving me a pointed look. I opened my mouth to argue that that wasn't the case but I realized that he was right. I shut my mouth, pressing my lips into a firm line.

"So what do you want me to do, Lorne? Forget about it?"

"Let it go." He said, "You're pissed because you got left out, big deal. You can't have it both ways, Mia." Lorne said, grilling me.

I slouched back in my chair, feeling my face flush at Lorne's words. He was harsh, but telling the truth. I was being a hypocrite, saying that I wanted nothing to do with the mission and experiments then throwing a tantrum when I was left out. Lorne was right, I couldn't have it both ways and I was acting like a spoiled brat.

"You're right," I sighed to him.

Lorne looked a little shocked, "Sorry, what was that?" He said, grinning from ear to ear.

I rolled my eyes at him, "I said you're right."

"Never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth, Sumner," Lorne said proudly as he crossed his arms.

"Don't get used to it." I bit back in a retort as Lorne laughed. "I should go and apologise, huh?" I said to Lorne with a sigh as the man smirked.

"It's up to you. Just try not to bite his head off or anything."

"I wont." I promised with a smile. Lorne gave me a look of disbelief as I rolled my eyes at him.

I left Lorne in the mess hall and started to ask around the base about where I would find John at this time. I had absolutely no idea where he could be at the moment; it wasn't like we were telepathically linked.

One of the marines pointed me in the direction of the isolation rooms just off the infirmary, I knew that they would be starting the Wraith experiments, I mean, they had their specimen, why wait any longer than necessary? As I neared the isolation room I could start to hear the faint screams of the Wraith coming from inside of the room. It sent a cold chill down my spin, right to the tips of my toes as I shook my head from the feeling and walked the long way around, up the stairs and into the observation chamber.

I walked in hesitantly, seeing Elizabeth, Teyla and Rodney staring down into the room, frowns on their faces; they hadn't noticed me yet as I cleared my throat softly, causing all three of them to look over in my direction.

"Major?" Elizabeth said, a question behind her eyes as I shuffled closer to them.

"I know I'm probably the last person you expected to see here," I started, glancing down at my feet. A loud cry from the room below had me jumping, as the three of them turned their gazes back down into the room.

" _You will die for this!_ " I heard the Wraith scream from the room. I walked to the window, holding onto the railing as I peered down, preparing myself for what I was about to see.

The Wraith was thrashing around on the medical bed, his legs kicking out as John and Ronon pinned his arms down onto the bed, I could even see the cuffs chaining him to the bed, I guess they were worried that even with him tied down he might be able to break free. Carson was also in the room, hurrying around with his nurses as he quickly got the retrovirus ready.

"Why did you come?" I heard Elizabeth ask me.

I didn't take my eyes off the scene below me, "Even if I don't agree with this, I want to support you guys. I just didn't realize it until now." I told her, glancing over at her and giving her a reassuring smile.

" _You're going to need a name, how does Mike sound?"_ I heard John call out as the Wraith gave an almighty growl as I sucked in a deep breath, I was nervous watching the Wraith continue to thrash around on the bed with Ronon and John so close to him. It was bringing back bad memories, knowing that I had already lost three people I cared about to the Wraith, I really didn't want to loose anymore.

I felt relief when Carson finally hurried over and administered the retrovirus into the Wraith; there was quiet talking between them all that the communication couldn't pick up, I could tell as their mouths were moving. It took a couple of minutes, but Mike the Wraith started to slow his attempts at escape. His body was growing weaker and then his thrashing stopped all together.

" _The retrovirus is starting to take effect._ " Carson said from inside the room, turning to look up at all of us.

I saw John look up, and he did a double take when he saw me standing with the others, the surprise evident on his face from seeing me. I managed a tight-lipped smile as Elizabeth started asking questions like, 'do we know when the changes will start?' 'How long do you think this will all take?'

Carson's reply had been simply, "It's hard ta tell, we still don't know if it will properly work. Only time will tell."

It was when I saw John and Ronon heading to the door did I dash out of the room quietly. I hurried down the stairs where I could hear John and Ronon talking together as I came running around the corner. The two men turned to me as I paused to collect my breath.

"Hey," I said, staring at John. His hands were shoved into his pockets. "Can I talk to you?" I asked him. Ronon cleared his throat and excused himself, walking passed me and to the observation room where everyone else is, leaving John and I alone in the corridor. I shuffled my weight on the spot, biting my lip nervously. John rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's a little busy right now." John said, not meeting my gaze.

"I know." I said quickly, stepping closer to him, "And I get that your mad at me."

"Can we not do this now." John said firmly, finally looking at me. I felt my stomach drop at the tone of voice he used as John started to walk, passing me as I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back around.

"John wait, please." I begged. "I'm sorry. I embarrassed you today and myself." I kept my voice low in the corridor; the sound could travel upwards and into the observation room where everyone was currently.

John sighed, his thumb running over the back of my hand, I took that as a good sign. "Come to mine tonight, we'll talk then." He said, removing his hand from mine and heading up the stairs.

I watched him go with a sad look, thinking how this would've been much easier had I just kept my bad mouth shut in the first place, I always had to be the one starting the arguments between us, and I felt horrible. I didn't feel like going up to the observation room so instead I left the vicinity and headed to the gym, hopefully a good workout would make me feel better.

* * *

It was nearly eleven at night when I made my way to John's room, I had spent most of the day in the gym, lecturing some of the younger marines and doing drills with them, while also demonstrating my own skill set to them. Much to my pleasure I sent about three marines to the infirmary with bruises and maybe one concussion and a broken nose. I tried not to feel smug about it but I couldn't help it.

I approached John's room as I waved my hand over the sensor, watching the door open as I stepped into the dimly lit room. John was lounging on his bed, one arm tucked behind his head and a book in the other. I reached back and quickly waved my hand over the sensor twice, locking the door from the inside. John dropped the book down onto his stomach as I slowly walked towards him, holding my hands behind my back.

"You finally finished War and Peace." I stated, seeing the large book placed neatly away on his desk.

"Only took me a year and a half," John said with a chuckle. I smiled at him, noticing a photo on his desk that I had seen over a dozen times. I walked to the desk, picking up the photo and smiling gently. It was a young John, with his mother as she picked him up and was pointing at a horse. John had a wide smile on his face while his mother looked at him lovingly.

"It's my favorite photo of you." I said tenderly, setting the picture down. I heard John set down the book on his nightstand and stand from the bed, walking over to me as I turned and leaned back on the desk, my hands bracing myself. John stopped a few feet away from me, his hazel eyes searching over my face as I smiled weakly. "I really am sorry for today, I was out of line and a complete idiot."

"You were." John agreed as I pursed my lips. I deserved that.

"I'll publicly apologise in the morning as well."

"You don't have to do that," John said, a frown forming.

I nodded my head, "Yes—I do. What I said to you, with everyone there. I can't handle people thinking that I don't respect you, and if I can start to question you in public then others might too." John managed a smirk, reaching out and running his fingers along my collarbone, "And the next time I want to question your motives I promise to do so in private." I said, holding up my pinky in the air with a grin.

John rolled his eyes at me; "I'd prefer it if you didn't question me at all, but we can't have everything now, can we?" He teased.

There was a pause for a few seconds, I reached for John's hands, holding them in my own as I stared up into his eyes, "So am I forgiven?" I asked him with a hopeful look. His mouth twitched, pulling up into a smirk as John bent his head and captured my lips with his, his hands moving around to my back as he pulled me flush against him. I pulled my head away from him, "So is that a yes?" I asked. John laughed, shaking his head at me as he kissed me again. I took that as a yes as I grinned into his mouth, my arms wrapping around his neck.

I lost myself in his kiss, our mouths moving in sync with each other as his fingers splayed out across my back, running them up and down, causing me to arch my back against his body, feeling his hard chest against my soft chest as I ran my fingers through his messy hair.

The best thing about having an argument with John was the make up sex afterwards. I gasped against John's mouth as he wrapped his hands around my thighs and hoisted me up, he used the opportunity to plunge his tongue into my mouth as I wrapped my legs around his torso. I felt my butt hit the desk as he released my thighs and ran his hands up my legs and over my stomach. I arched against him again, the knot forming in my lower stomach as I moaned into his mouth. His hands caressed the skin under my shirt as I sucked in a shaky breath, the feeling of anticipation and longing rushing through me. My black shirt was pulled over my head as John planted his lips against the side of my neck, sucking and kissing my skin as I tossed my head back in bliss. I could feel his hands working the clasp at my bra while he continued to ravage my skin with his kisses and gentle nips. My hands went to the buckle on his belt, my fingers quickly working it as I pulled it out and unbuttoned his pants just as my bra was tossed across the room. John's mouth sought out one of my breasts as I almost lost the ability to think straight. My hips started to rock against his body, my legs tightening around his waist as I forgot about his pants and clutched onto his hair as John continued to suck my breast while his hand kneaded the other one.

"Oh, God." I moaned. John changed breasts as I threw my head back, my fingers digging into his back. I grew frustrated at the feeling of his shirt under my hands; I wanted to feel his skin. I pushed through the amazing feeling that John was giving me as I bunched up his shirt and managed to break his connection so that I could pull his shirt over his head and drop it to the floor. He gave me a cheeky smile as I returned it. His hands gripped me against him as I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him hard on the mouth as he picked me up off the desk and carried me over to his bed.

He dropped us down, my back hitting the soft bed as I continued to have my limbs wrapped around his body. We continued to kiss, one of his hands weaving their way between our bodies to undo the button on my trousers.

He pulled away, shimmying down my trousers, taking my underwear with them, as I lay naked underneath him. John began peppering kisses along my stomach as I felt my body arch into his touch; his hands caressing my sides gently, his fingers barely teasing my skin as I writhed beneath him.

"John?" I said his name, breathless.

"Hmm?" He said, raising his head and crawling closer to me.

I smiled at him, my hand caressing the side of his face, my skin prickling from his slight stubble, "I love you."

John leaned forwards and kissed me softly, my eyes slid shut as I wound my arms around his neck tightly as his hands moved under my back as his fingers tickled the bare skin there, causing Goosebumps to rise. John pulled away slowly; he pecked me on the nose gently.

"I know." He said, smirking as I returned it. My hands then resumed their work on his trousers as I pulled them down quickly, earing a pointed look from him as I laughed and rolled us over so that I was straddling him. John gazed up at me and brushed away the hair that had fallen in front of my face as he gently tucked it behind my ear, "I love you, Mia Sumner."

We then proceeded to have a glorious night together.

* * *

 **So yeah Mia was probably annoying in this chapter for being a hypocrite and bratty, but Lorne did call her out on it and she soon realised what she had done. The next chapters are a lot more exciting than this one as Michael is really introduced and put into the story line. You can probably guess where I am going with all of this but be prepared for Michael playing a big part in the story, more so then he already does in the series. We're almost done with Season 2 and I can hardly believe it to be honest, see you all next week!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you! I love writing banter between everyone, it's my favourite thing to write!

 **Adela** \- Thank you! Yes I love their team dynamics!

 **Julka212** \- I couldn't help myself and put that line in there! xD The one tango scene always makes me laugh no matter how many times i watch it, I couldn't wait to write it in there with Mia xD I'll just have to think of some ways to have Ladon come back cause i really do miss him! I was originally going to let her have a nice photo of her smiling or something but then I realised that whenever they're out on missions she's always bickering with Rodney about something so it just seemed right xD


	64. Emergence - Chapter 64

**Hi guys I am so so sorry for being MIA last week, long story short I've been dealing with some family drama and it's been taking up all my time at the moment. I'm not going to bore you with the details but I will be trying my best to make sure that you're getting your chapters!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"I heard he was awake." I said to Carson as I walked into the room above the isolation room. It had been thirteen days since bringing in the Wraith, and much to everyone's surprise the retrovirus seemed to have worked. I peered down into the room below, seeing a man, not a Wraith; it still didn't change the fact that he was a Wraith, but it was fascinating nonetheless. The man in the room had short sandy blonde hair, and if one didn't know about him beforehand, you wouldn't have guessed that he was a life sucking alien hell bent on killing the human population.

"Aye," Carson said, peeling his eyes away from his laptop to look over at me, "Complete amnesia. Doesn't remember a thing."

I looked down into the room again, seeing the 'man' we had named Michael looking around the room with a frown, he was staring at the wires connected to his body. I bit down on my lip nervously as I glanced over at Carson again; the Doctor was rubbing his face and stifling a yawn.

"You look as tired as I feel, Carson," I said to him as his baby blue eyes met mine, concern washed over his face.

"You ok, love?" He asked.

I nodded my head, "Yeah, I didn't sleep very well last night. I'm alright though." I told him with a smile. Carson nodded in understanding and I watched him stifle another yawn, "You should go and get some sleep."

"I know," Carson agreed, "There's just still so much more to do." He argued with me.

"He'll be here in a few hours, he's not going anywhere anytime soon." I told Carson with a pointed look, he seemed to think over it for a few seconds. Finally he nodded.

"Ok, I'll go take a break, will you watch over him for a little while?" He asked me as I shrugged and smiled kindly at the doctor.

"Of course, go and have a nap and I will call for you if anything happens," I told Carson as I laid my hand on his shoulder gently, giving him a reassuring squeeze as he thanked me and headed out of the room.

Once Carson was gone I sighed heavily and leaned against the railing, I turned my head, looking down into the room once more as I spotted Michael staring up at me. I jumped back in fright, not having expected to him to be even looking in this direction at all. I walked over to the computer that was set up with the four camera's pointing at different points in the isolation room. Michael was still staring up here, but it wasn't hostile or angry in any way, he seemed to be severely confused. I knew that John and Elizabeth had already been down there to speak to him about his supposed memory loss, but I felt sorry for him. Even if he was a Wraith, or, had been a Wraith, he still had no idea what was going on. He was in a foreign place with strange people in a room all by himself, and I pitied him.

I watched as Michael finally looked away from the window, his gaze returning to level as he scratched the back of his head and looked around his prison. I bit my lip nervously, maybe it wouldn't hurt for me to go and speak to him? He did seem lonely, and like it or not, he was technically human, according to Carson's results. I know I said I was against this whole experiment but I couldn't let Michael just sit by himself in that room. Man I sounded like a mother hen.

My curiosity got the better of me as I finally decided to go down there and see him, and well, talk to him too. I left the observation room, heading down the stairs I came to the door to the isolation room. The large Marine stationed outside nodded to me as I approached the door and waved my hand over the sensor. I stepped into the darkened room.

Michael turned his head when he heard me enter, now that I was closer and not looking through a computer screen at him I could see that his eyes were a remarkable blue, and he did indeed look very human. It was astonishing and also scary at just how well Carson's retrovirus worked.

"Did I scare you?" Michael said to me. His voice surprised me too, it sounded normal and not how the Wraith spoke in their signature hiss.

I finally realized what Michael had said to me as I furrowed my brows, "What?" I questioned, confused.

Michael pointed up to the window, "That was you up there, wasn't it?" He asked me.

I shook myself out of the trance I had been in and approached his bed cautiously, "Yes, sorry; and no, you didn't scare me." I said to him with a sincere smile. "You just surprised me, that's all."

Michael looked relieved, "Oh, that's good then." He seemed to study my face for something, I guessed a familiarity of something, I remained quiet as he shook his head, "I'm sorry, I assume I'm supposed to know you but…"

"It's ok," I said quickly, holding my hands out, "I know about your memory loss. I'm Mia." I introduced myself to him. No recognition passed over his face, which I expected, this was the first time I had actually set foot into this room since he had been here.

Michael nodded, "Are you in the Marine's too, like me?"

"No, the Army, actually." I said to him. "I'm a Major, previously second in command here in Atlantis."

Michael looked at me in awe, "Wow, that's cool. So you're not the second in command anymore?"

"No, not anymore. Another Major now has the position," I explained for him. I thought on the story that we had given Michael about his life, and I knew it couldn't hurt for me to expand on it a little, he seemed so open to conversation, it was hard for me not to. "I generally train the new recruits that have been brought in. Get them ready for the Wraith." I said, realizing my slip up as I looked away quickly and scrunched up my face. I shouldn't have mentioned the Wraith at all.

"It's ok," Michael said, "Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir told me about what happened." I nodded slowly, pressing my lips into a firm line and shoving my hands into my pockets. "So did you train me?" Michael continued like nothing had happened.

I was slightly taken aback by his question but recovered, "Uh, well yes and no," I lied effortlessly, "When you arrived in Atlantis you were already pretty well trained. We just used to spar every couple of days." I said with a wave of my hand.

Michael smiled for the first time, and I was shocked again at how human he seemed, "So we're friends then?"

I paused only for a second, letting the question sink in, "Y-yeah, we are." I confirmed with a smile.

Michael laughed, "That's the best news I've heard all day!" He exclaimed in happiness. He met my stare as I plastered on a smile.

I glanced around at the machines that he was still hooked up to, "So, how are you feeling now?" I asked him.

"Physically, fine," Michael said, flexing out his arms as if to prove his point, "But my mind is just completely blank. Colonel Sheppard said that I'm a Lieutenant—that's lower than you, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded in affirmation, "Don't let the rank fool you, you're a great soldier." I said positively to him as Michael scoffed and gave me an eye roll.

"If I'm such a great soldier, then how come I got captured by the Wraith?" He said, deadpan to me as I became lost for words for a few seconds.

I shuffled on my feet and wet my lips before I spoke, "Well, you see your team were searching a landed Wraith cruiser, it was badly damaged in a battle so you assumed that the Wraith inhabiting it had either died or moved on. You came under fire and sacrificed yourself to let your team escape." Michael still didn't look pleased with the answer, "Listen," I said to him as he met my stare, "We've all been captured by the Wraith, me included numerous times. It's something that just happens, but sometimes we don't always come back—you did though." I said, reaching out and giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Michael's blue eyes looked over at my hand on his shoulder as I suddenly drew it back, holding it down at my side as I looked away from him, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"We're you part of the team that rescued me?" He asked suddenly.

"No," I replied instantly, "It was a—" I thought of the first thing that came to mind, "Conflict of interest." I made up, instantly regretting it. Michael gave me an odd look as I tried to smile at him. He nodded slowly. I wasn't sure if he totally understood by what I meant by a conflict of interest. I meant it in the sense that I never wanted a part of the experiment, but now I wondered if I had said the wrong thing.

A knock from above had me looking up to the observation room, and to my surprise John was staring down at me. He motioned for me to come up into the room as I nodded quickly, turning my attention back to Michael as he too lowered his head down.

"I'm sorry, Michael, I have to go and talk to Colonel Sheppard." I said to him.

"No, no, it's ok." Michael said, waving his hand in the air, "I can't have you all to myself, can I now?" He chuckled lightheartedly.

I felt my insides churn at his words as I responded with a laugh, I didn't want him to think anything was amiss, "I'll come back soon." I told him with a smile as I headed to the door and knocked on it.

As it was an isolation room there wasn't a sensor to open the door from the inside, so the security guard had to let me out. When the door did open I turned back to Michael and gave him a final wave as I left the room and thanked the guard as I passed him.

Thoughts were running through my head as I raised my hand to my forehead as I sighed, what the hell had I done? I shouldn't be so friendly with him, he was a Wraith goddammit, I needed to remember that.

I entered the room, and I was surprised to see that John, Elizabeth, Heightmeyer and Carson were all in here. They looked over at me when they heard me enter.

"I thought you were going to go rest?" I said to Carson as I moved to one of the empty chairs and sat down. John was leaning against the desk next to me.

"I was, but Doctor Weir wanted Doctor Heightmeyer to come and meet us and evaluate Michael," Carson explained.

"Evaluate him?" I questioned, looking over at Heightmeyer. It had been a while since I saw the woman, seeing her always brought up bad memories for me.

"We've all spoken to Michael," Kate stated. "Mia, seeing as you've been against this from the start I would like to hear your opinion on the matter."

"On the _matter_?" I said in disgust. From the corner of my eye I saw John rub his face and hang his head. I glared at Kate, "He's a person. Be it Wraith or human."

Kate realized her mistake with me and she nodded slowly, "I understand, you're right. In any case, how did you find talking to him?" She asked.

I pushed aside my petty anger for Heightmeyer as I sighed, "Honestly, it felt like I was just talking to a guy called Michael. I know it sounds ridiculous coming from me seeing as I kicked up a fuss about this whole thing but I feel like he deserves to have some freedom. We've put him into this mess, we can't keep him locked up in here."

"It sounds like you've bonded with him," Kate inquired. I remembered that they would've been able to hear my conversation with Michael had they been up here, and who knows how long that would've been listening in.

"Well, I mean he asked if we were friends." I said with a shrug to them. Kate looked over at Carson and then back to me.

"How did you respond?"

"I said we were. I couldn't really say no, could I?" I muttered sarcastically as Elizabeth sent me a warning look.

"What are you thinking, doc?" John asked suddenly, making me follow his gaze to Heightmeyer who was thinking deeply about something. She glanced up at John, then looked around at all of us.

"Stabilization is key to his recovery, it might be beneficial if Mia continued to be around him, help with his emotional recovery. They both seemed very comfortable in one another's presence."

"Um, hi, I'm still here!" I called out, waving my hand with a scowl on my face, "And what do you mean by helping with his emotional recovery?" I asked her.

I could see the trepidation on her face, she was thinking about the best way to word what she was going to say to me, "What I mean is that it would be very good if Michael had someone to talk to about what he's feeling; A friend that he can rely on during this transition. If you formed a close relationship with him I believe it would help his recovery immensely."

"You mean pretend to be in a relationship with him?" I asked in outrage, standing up from my chair.

"Is that wise?" Elizabeth directed her question to both Carson and Kate. Carson looked baffled.

"It wouldn't have to be a romantic relationship," Kate clarified.

"Oh, well that's a relief!" I exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from my mouth.

"Earn his trust, talk to him as you have been doing."

"Why does it have to be me?" I asked, glaring round at them, "There are plenty of women on this base that could do this, Teyla for example!" I tried to reason with them.

"Teyla hasn't had any prior contact with him as of yet. From what I saw of Michael's body language he feels comfortable around you already; and would you trust anyone else on this base to do this?" Kate asked me with a pointed look as I continued to hold her stare.

"I'm not going to force you to do this, Major." Elizabeth said to me, "It's your decision."

I finally looked up at John, he was staring ahead, his jaw tense. He was obviously not happy about this but couldn't voice it, and I couldn't exactly tell the real reason why I didn't want to do this assignment, lest John and I both loose our jobs.

My gaze moved to the screen behind Heightmeyer and Elizabeth, I saw Michael sitting in his bed by himself, he was tracing patterns on the bed sheet with his finger and looked extremely lonely and sad.

"Fine." I muttered, "I'll do it. So what now then?" I asked Kate.

"Integration into the community, while also working on his relational development."

"How is he doing physically?" Elizabeth asked Carson.

"Excellent," the Doctor replied, "Vitals normal. All he needs is a bit of physical therapy to regain muscle tone and coordination."

"Do you think he's ready to be released?" Elizabeth asked for his honest opinion.

Carson nodded firmly, "I do."

John finally spoke up, "Shouldn't we wait a few more days? We still don't know if there are any residual effects he might be carrying around." He said, implying about his Wraith tendencies.

Elizabeth turned to look at Kate, "What do you think, Doctor? Is he ready to join the community?"

"A change of scenery could be very beneficial to him," Kate replied instantly.

Elizabeth nodded, "Well alright then, release him." She said to Carson as the doctor nodded to her.

Carson headed out with Elizabeth and Kate in tow to bring Michael the good news, and it didn't surprise me when John walked up to the always open glass door and shut it, locking it and turning to face me.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked me, approaching me slowly.

I slapped my arms against my side and scoffed, "Of course I don't want to do this, John!" I exclaimed in a hiss, running my hand down my face.

John pointed to the door, "Then go and tell Heightmeyer and Weir that."

"No, because I can't do that to him," I said to John, I stepped up to John so that our chests were touching as I reached out and held onto his forearm.

John raised his hand and rested it on my shoulder, at the base of my neck as his thumb brushed over my exposed skin, "You wanted nothing to do with this and yet you're being thrown in the middle of it." He said to me, the remorse in his hazel eyes.

"I was going to be involved whether I liked it or not."

"I don't like the fact that they want you to play the part of his girlfriend. You're mine," John said possessively as I felt my heart skip a beat. I knew that John was a jealous type; he always had been, so I could understand where he was coming from.

"I know," I said to him, "And I'm not even going to try and suggest it to Michael, for now I'll just start by being his friend, and that's all."

I could heard Carson talking with Michael down in the isolation room, getting him prepared for his release, I could also hear Elizabeth and Kate chiming in when needed. I heard my name thrown around in there too. John was still giving me a disapproving look, he was definitely not happy with the situation, we had no idea what could happen with Michael, he was like a loose canon fully loaded and ready to fire at the drop of a hat.

"If he does anything, or if you just want out, tell me and I'll make sure you're pulled out of this immediately," John said to me.

I nodded, "I will, but for the time being I think it would be wise for us to have some distance between us, I can't be absent all the time when I need to be helping Michael with his recovery." I meant it in the fact that I spent most of my time with John in his bedroom or him in mine, and if I wasn't around Michael helping him after I had told Elizabeth and Carson I would they would grow suspicious and wonder where I was sneaking off too and then John and I would have our relationship outed.

John looked like he didn't want to agree, he bent down and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead, I shut my eyes at the warm contact, relishing in the feeling of his lips on my skin as he pulled back, "I'll be monitoring him from the security room, I'll have eyes on you at all times when you're with him. Signal me if you want out, ok?"

I nodded, stepping up on my toes and planting a hurried kiss on his lips, "Ok." I said to him.

* * *

I entered the isolation room, Carson and Elizabeth turning to greet me as I plastered on a smile. I noticed that Michael's expression also lit up upon me entering the room.

"And Major Sumner has graciously agreed to be your tour guide while you adjust back to Atlantis routine," Elizabeth stated as I approached the bed.

"Well that was nice of her," Michael said as Carson began removing all the wires off his body as I smirked at him.

"Yes it was," Elizabeth said with a smile pointed at me, I avoided her gaze. "Well I should get back to work, I'm glad you're going to be up and about Michael. Enjoy your day with Major Sumner." She said pleasantly as she left the room, Kate following behind her.

Carson finished taking all the wires off him and handed him a pair of standard military clothes, "We'll let you get changed into these, just knock on the door when you're ready." Carson instructed as he ushered me out of the room.

I leant against the wall and crossed my arms, glancing over at Carson as the doctor looked at me with concern in his eyes, "You alright, love?"

"I have to be, don't I?" I sighed as Carson glanced away.

"I hope you don't think we forced you into doing this," Carson said, I could hear the worry in his voice, he was afraid that I was going to hate him.

"What? Carson of course not, I'm doing this because I said I wanted to."

Carson looked relieved, "Ok, good. I'm going to head down to the infirmary now, good luck with Michael." Carson said, placing his hand on my shoulder and giving me an encouraging squeeze.

There was a knock on the door as I plastered on the smile I found I would have to be using with Michael as I waved my hand over the sensor and greeted him, "So they still fit?" I said cheerfully as Michael stepped out of the room, running his hands down the black shirt.

"They're comfortable," he said, looking down at me.

"Well, that's a good start." I said to him as Michael grinned. His gaze was suddenly drawn to the two Marines who stood by me. I looked over my shoulder at them and then back to Michael, "They're just here for protection. Incase things get a little too much for you."

Michael nodded, holding in his breath as I patted his arm, "Don't worry about it. Just don't even think about them."

"Kind of hard not to when Doctor Beckett thinks I'm going to freak out or something."

"You wont," I said firmly. Michael seemed to be reassured with my words as I motioned for him to start walking with me, "So, where do you want to go first?" I asked him cheerfully as Michael pondered over the question.

Turns out he wanted to see his quarters first. Seeing as he technically didn't have his own quarters he had been set up in the guest ones, which were nicer then my own room. It had also been bugged with cameras and microphones so that we could keep a very close eye on Michael. We approached the glass doors as Michael opened it up and stepped in, I motioned to the guards to wait outside as I followed Michael into the room.

His eyes darted around the space, I found my own gaze moving up to one of the camera's, I felt reassurance that I knew John was watching me right now.

"Does any of this look familiar to you?" I asked Michael as he walked over to his desk.

"No," he said sadly as he picked up a cowboy hat from the desk. He turns his body to me, silently asking for an explanation. I reach out and take the offered hat.

"It's a cowboy hat," I said as I placed it on my head, tipping it down in a way I saw in Old West movies, "You come from Texas. They're known for their rodeo's." I said with a laugh as I took the hat off. Michael still looked at me questioningly, "They're these things where people try to sit on a horses back while the horse is trying to buck them off."

"Sounds dangerous," Michael mused as I handed the hat back to him. He ran his fingers over the fabric as I smirked.

"It can be, is mostly. You always were fond of it, you grew up on a ranch there." Michael still looked confused like I knew he would as he set the hat down on the desk and picked something else up in his hands. "They are your parents." I said to him quietly as Michael studied the picture in his hands. He stared at the picture for a couple of seconds before he placed it back down and met my gaze.

"I don't remember them." He admitted sadly.

"I know it's hard, but you have to give it time. Hopefully soon your memories will return to you."

"Do you think they will?" Michael asked me.

The little voice in my head told me that Michael would never remember seeing as everything we were telling him was a lie, but instead I sighed, "I hope they do, for your sake."

* * *

"Michael I want you to meet Teyla Emmagan. Our resident Athosian and my best friend," I said gleefully to Michael as we walked into the gym. Teyla was stretching out in her workout gear; she smiled when we both entered the gym. Michael went up to her and shook her hand.

"You look familiar," he mused. I saw Teyla's eyes flick over to me for a split second as I stepped up to Michael's side.

"Teyla was part of the team that rescued you from the Wraith cruiser." I explained to him.

Michael had a look of awe on his face, "Oh, well then I guess I owe you my life." He said, charmingly as Teyla smiled at him.

"It is alright. You would have done the same for anyone of the base." She replied to him sweetly. Michael looked a little confused as to why we were in the gym.

"Oh," I said, remembering that I hadn't told him yet, "Teyla is going to be helping with your physical therapy. She's really good at teaching." I said, giving her a smirk as Michael looked over at me.

"I thought you were the resident teacher?" He questioned as I faltered for a second. I had indeed told him that story about me training new people.

"Well, Teyla has more of a gentler aspect of teaching then I do. We thought it best that you start off with her and then move your way back up to me again." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. Michael bought it as he nodded in understanding and faced Teyla. The Athosian tried to keep the unease off her face but I could tell that she was irked about the whole Michael Wraith thing but was trying to keep an open mind about it.

I watched from the sidelines as Teyla and Michael sparred together, she was taking it easy on him, going slow and deliberate through all of the hand-to-hand moves. It was no surprise that Michael was picking it up but also failing at the same time. It was comical for me to watch Teyla stomp all over him. I did feel sort of bad seeing as Michael had no recollection on how to fight and I had willingly pitted him against one of the best fighters in the city.

I winced when Michael received a very nasty blow to the stomach as he doubled over, groaning and then Teyla slammed her leg into his chest, knocking Michael on his ass as he gripped his stomach in pain. I grimaced, knowing full well what that felt like as something caught my eye at the door of the gym.

I knew that the two security guards were there watching but I was surprised when I saw Ronon standing and glaring. His dark and murderous gaze was focused solely on Michael and I could tell that someone needed to talk him down before Ronon did something stupid.

I hurried over to him and tugged on his arm forcefully as I managed to barely pull him out of view of Michael, "Seriously? I felt the room drop ten degrees with you standing there glaring." I said to him as Ronon tried to push me out of the way to get back to glaring into the room, "Ronon stop!" I hissed at him.

"He shouldn't be out here." He spat angrily, "He should be locked up."

"I know that you have your opinion on this," I tried to reason with him. Moving around to his front and placing myself in his path, "Hell, I did too. But Michael is allowed to some sort of freedom now."

"He's a _Wraith_." Ronon hissed lowly at me. I felt my heartbeat speed up as I clamped my hand around Ronon's mouth in shock; he smacked it away instantly and glared at me.

"Give him a chance, I have— _Ronon!_ " I screeched as he suddenly shoved me out of the way and sprinted into the gym. I spun around, wondering what the hell had gotten into him.

For a split second, before Ronon reached him I saw what had made him run into that room like a bat out of hell. Michael had pinned Teyla to the ground during their spar while I hadn't been watching, it seemed that he was indeed better then we both thought. Ronon had taken it the wrong way, Michael hadn't hurt Teyla, but in the Satedan's eyes he might as well had.

Ronon roared as he grabbed Michael from behind, flinging him into the wall and holding him by the throat, "Keep your hands off her!"

I ran into the room, following Teyla as the Athosian had scrambled to her feet and approached the angry hulking man, "Ronon! We were sparring as part of his physical therapy. Let him go." Teyla ordered; her hand outstretched. Ronon seemed to ignore her as I could see Michael was struggling to breathe through the strong grip that Ronon had on him. "Now!" Teyla said, yelling at Ronon. It took Ronon a few seconds but he finally released his hold on Michael, he slid down the wall, grasping his throat and breathing deeply.

Ronon turned, meeting my gaze, as I made sure that he could tell I was furious, "Outside, _now_." I growled at him. He looked like he wanted to argue with me but another look from me had him walking ahead of me. As I left the gym I realized that my hand had been hovering over my glock, had I really been instinctually ready to shoot Ronon to stop him from killing Michael? Or had I been wanting to draw the gun to stop Michael from hurting Teyla?

I felt a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach as I thought about it, but once I saw Ronon leaning up against the wall outside of the gym the thought disappeared as I stormed up to him.

"What the hell was all that about?" I demanded off him, squaring up to him even though I barely came up to his shoulder. He didn't even bother looking at me; I didn't expect him to, "You can't do this, Ronon. Michael has done nothing wrong."

"Why are you protecting him?" Ronon growled out to me, still not looking at me.

"I'm not."

"Yes you are. You were against this from the start," Ronon said, glaring down at me as I held my stance, I wasn't going to back down from Ronon, no matter how much he terrified me sometimes.

"That maybe so, but it doesn't give you the right to throw him around like a sack of potatoes." My voice rose slightly. I stopped and took a deep breath, composing myself before speaking again, "I believe in second chances, Ronon. You should too." I told him, implying about the chance we had given him after he had taken Teyla, John and I hostage. Teyla had also confided in me about the man Ronon had killed from his home planet a while ago, no one else knew about it but I was hoping that Ronon would get the hint. I also meant it for me too, I had done some things in my life that I wasn't pleased about, going off the rails for a year, getting into hard drugs and abandoning my post, I had been given a second chance, why shouldn't Michael have one.

"You can protect him all you want, it's never going to change what he is." Ronon spat, motioning his head to the gym as I scowled at the Satedan.

"Then don't come near him again, Ronon. I mean it." I warned him, finishing up with a final glare as I spun around on my heel and marched back into the gym.

Teyla was consoling Michael as I watched him hold his neck and look up at me, startled, probably thinking that I was Ronon coming back to finish what he had started.

"Are you ok?" I asked him, kneeling down in front of him. I could see the faint bruising from Ronon's hands, I hoped that it wouldn't turn ugly as that would bring up a lot of questions that I didn't really want to answer to the others.

Michael looked at me hesitantly, and I felt bad for him, "I thought he was going to kill me." Michael admitted as I felt my stomach drop.

Teyla glanced over at me, she rose up from the ground and excused herself, I knew that she was going to go find Ronon and grill him exactly as I did, and I let her leave as I helped Michael up from the floor.

"Michael I'm so sorry that happened to you. Ronon's just…he's Ronon and you two never really saw eye to eye on some things. Believe me I've had my fair share of dealings and punches with him."

Michael's eyes widened in shock, "You've fought with him?"

I nodded, "A few times. One of our first meetings was Ronon holding me hostage," I chuckled at the memory of me dangling upside down in his trap, "I was then dealing with some personal issues earlier this year and Ronon got a little too rough with me, causing some trauma to come back into my life. We've only really started to get along recently."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Michael said sincerely, "And that I can't remember."

"It's ok," I said, waving my hand in the air, "I've worked through it." I looked down at my watch and swore loudly.

"What is it?" Michael asked.

"We're going to be late for your appointment with Heightmeyer." I told him with a sigh as Michael didn't look that fazed about it, at least I knew he wasn't too keen on seeing a shrink either. But either way he followed me out of the gym as I took him in the direction of Kate's office that I knew all too well.

* * *

I was walking through the deserted corridors of Atlantis after dropping Michael off at his quarters for the night. He had his meeting with Kate, and then after that we went to the mess hall for dinner, we talked for a while, me letting him know more about life at Atlantis and bit about my family, or lack thereof. It had been a pleasant conversation with Michael, which surprised me, and I even found myself sometimes even forgetting what he had previously been.

I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest, staring at my feet as I walked slowly towards my bedroom, I was getting grumpy as I knew that John wouldn't be sharing my bed tonight, and after spending an entire day with Michael I really needed the comfort of his arms, but it was just too risky for us both at the moment, once things began to settle down with Michael then we could resume our previous sleeping habits.

I gasped suddenly as I was pulled into a small alcove; I stumbled into a hard body as two strong arms encased me. A hand clamped itself over my eyes as I felt a pair of warm lips press against the tender flesh of my neck, "Three guesses who?" John whispered seductively into my ear as I shivered against his body and smirked.

"Rodney, when did you start to work out?" I teased, running my hand along John's taught stomach. I heard a primal growl come from John as he bit down on my neck gently, letting me know that he was less then pleased with my answer. His tongue massaged the skin he bit as I leaned against him heavily, my knees suddenly becoming weak.

"I thought we were going to keep our distance?" I whimpered. John removed his hand from around my eyes as it travelled south, his other hand joining it as he trailed it down my front and over my hips.

"Hard to when I've been watching Michael undress you all day with his eyes, one only knows how creepy that is," John muttered against my skin as his hands trailed down to my thighs. I spun around in his arms, his hands staying in the same place as they rested on my butt.

"You're over exaggerating, I don't even think Michael has those types of feelings or whatever, how can he?"

"He's human, Mia. A man no less, of course he is," John said with a pointed look as he began to back me up so that my back was pressed against the cool wall. His arms came up to rest on either side of my face as he trapped me with his body pressing against mine.

"Well, you're lucky that I only have eyes for one man then." I whispered, running my hands up his chest under his shirt. I saw a lustful look come over John's face as he swooped down, capturing my lips with his as he kissed me with a hungry desire. I dug my nails into his back, pulling his body closer to mine as his hands were suddenly all over my body. His fingers dug into my hips, rocking me against him as he continued to ravage my mouth with his. His lips moved over my jaw and to the spot behind my ear that he loved to kiss and suck on as he knew it would make me weak at the knees, and it was working. I titled my head back as I moaned quietly, knowing that we were still out in the corridor.

"John—we can't, not here." I said breathlessly to him as he swiped one hand over my sensitive breast. I arched into his touch as his lips moved back to my mouth as he kissed me hard, his tongue darting through as we began to have an erotic dance of tongues. His hand still fondled with my breasts as he pulled away and kissed the base of my neck, by my collarbone.

"I know a place," he whispered to me. I could only manage a nod as John took my hand in his, looked both directions before darting out of the alcove with me in tow, my head and private parts still throbbing.

John strode quickly to the end of the corridor, and what I saw what he was leading us to made me smile. He waved his hand over the sensor, letting us into the transporter as he turned and reached up to the console system in the top corner of the small room, he pulled the face off then wrenched the small crystal out. Effectively cutting power to the room as the touch screen shut down and the emergency lighting bathed the room in a soft glow.

Before John had even turned around I pounced on him, I pinned him to the wall as I kissed him hard on the mouth. Before I knew it our clothes were on the floor and John had pinned me up against the wall now, lifting me into his arms as I hooked my legs around his waist. Our lips never broke contact as I felt him move aside my panties and with a hard thrust he was deep inside me. I cried out in pleasure, my head banging against the wall as John continued his hard and rough motions into me as I gripped onto his shoulders for dear life. I was seeing stars, trying hard to keep my voice under control as I moved my hips in time with his, lifting myself up and crashing down onto him sending waves of pleasure shooting through me.

"God, you're amazing." John said, breathlessly as he bit the soft skin by my breast, he kissed it and ran his hot tongue over the spot as I released another moan as I could feel my release coming ever so close.

"Don't stop!" I cried out to him, biting down on his shoulder to muffle my scream of pleasure as John grunted through gritted teeth and released a growl that threw me over the edge as I came hard. John finished at the same time, pumping into me and riding out his own orgasm as I tried not to pass out from exhaustion.

John placed tender kisses over my shoulder as he continued to hold me as I regained my strength slowly. I lifted my head off him and kissed him on the mouth.

"I love you, John." I said, pulling away.

John lowered me to the ground, my knees shaking as I saw him giving me the cheeky smile because he had won this round. I rolled my eyes at him, as we both got dressed again. He reached up and inserted the crystal into its place once more as he quickly spun around and gathered me up into his arms, pressing a kiss to my mouth as I grinned into the kiss.

"I love you." John said sweetly as the door opened and John and I moved away from each other.

We both halted in our tracks when Lorne stood before us, one eyebrow quirked and his arms crossed over his chest, "They sent me down here to check why the transporter suddenly went offline. Should've known it was you two." Lorne said with a smirk as I instantly felt my face turn red.

John cleared his throat, "You won't—mention this to anyone, right?"

Lorne chuckled and shook his head, he turned his back on us, "Have a good night, Colonel." Lorne said, waving his hand and disappearing.

I wanted to disappear myself now, how embarrassing.

"This is your fault, you horny bunny!" I hissed to John as he burst out into laughter.

* * *

 **Ok so I just realised that both of these chapters ended with a steamy scene, oh Lord my cheeks are red from having to proof read that again xD Don't ask me why I get embarrassed reading my own mature scenes, I just do ok ahah *clears throat nervously***

 **Again so sorry for being late a week with an update, again family drama takes priority over my story unfortunately, I will be trying my hardest to make sure the next chapter is out on time for you all as we are coming up to the end of season 2! I can't believe it, anyone have any guesses with what might happen?**

 **REPLIES**

 **Adela** \- Yep first fight in public! Many more will probably come over the course of this story knowing these two!

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you! I always wanted someone other then Ronon to oppose the experiments, I mean we all know why Ronon hates the Wraith and everything but as you said I believe Mia's character would have opposed it!

 **GoldenGod48** \- They were both being a bit childish in the end, Mia's classic overreaction to everything and John trying to avoid conflict with others (mainly her) but making matters worse xD

 **Julka212** \- hahah yesss! Everyone was so hopped on whether they could do it no one stopped to think if they should! Jurrassic park quote there, not sure if its word for word seeing as i haven't watched that movie in yearssss. Don't worry, that look will come...


	65. Emergence - Chapter 65

**Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I'm very surprised at myself for being able to get this chapter out for all of you. This is the last chapter in the Michael arc, it finally reaches the climax and then we're only a few chapters away from the finale. I am very very very very excited for the next couple of chapters that will be coming out and hopefully you all will too! Also thank you to everyone for being so understanding about my family, I always makes me feel good knowing I have some amazing people out there sticking with me. The issue is still ongoing but again I'll be trying my hardest to make sure I get an update out every week for you!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

The first thing I spotted when arriving at the gym were the two guards posted outside the door, it alerted me to the fact that Michael was in the gym already. I nodded to the security guards as I entered the gym and saw Michael sitting on the window chair; he was staring at the stain glass window, his brows drawn together in thought as I approached him, "Michael?" I called his name.

He turned his head slowly, not giving any emotion away when he saw me, "I thought you might come here this morning." He stated quietly. I noticed the large bags under his eyes as I frowned in concern for him. I moved closer to him, taking a seat opposite him.

"Are you ok?" I asked him.

He glanced at me again, a forced smile on his lips, "I had a nightmare last night, I couldn't sleep much." He admitted.

I felt a sympathetic smile cross my face, I knew what it was like to have nightmares, I had suffered with them for months after my dad's death, Ford's attack and the Wraith's attacks. Some nights I would be plagued with them, it hadn't happened in a while now though.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked him hesitantly, I knew what men were like sometimes, they hated talking about what bothered them, John hated it sometimes. Michael surprised me by nodding, "I dreamt I was a Wraith."

I kept the shock off my face, or at least tried to, "It was just a dream, Michael." I told him.

"It felt so real." He said, "I know it was a dream but when I saw that face staring back at me…they did something to me, didn't they? The wraith, during my capture." Michael paused and looked away from me, allowing me two seconds to recompose myself. This was ridiculous, I felt terrible about keeping this secret from him, but worried that Michael had in fact dreamt that he was a Wraith. "They did something to my mind. Maybe they implanted something in my brain. What did they do?" Michael asked me as I sat there, staring at him, unsure of what to tell him. What the hell do I tell him?

 _Sorry to break it to you Mike ole' buddy but it's true, you're a Wraith—wanna go grab a bite to eat?_ I thought bitterly to myself.

"We don't know." I lied to him. I saw the sadness in his blue gaze as I reached out and grasped his shoulder, it was bold, but my sympathetic side won out in this case. "Michael, there are many people here who have had these nightmares, you aren't alone in this." I told him. Michael surprised me by reaching up and taking my hand in his, I felt the strong urge to pull away from him, feeling that this was wrong and a betrayal to John; I couldn't pull away though, if I did it would raise suspicions with him, and I didn't want Michael asking anymore questions about the Wraith.

"Really?" He asked, still holding onto my hand as I nodded stiffly.

"The constant fear and threat of the Wraith attacking, the way they kill us, what they've done to us already, who they've taken from me."

"You have these nightmares too?" Michael asked the hope in his eyes that I could understand what he was going through overwhelmed me.

I nodded, "Yeah, a lot."

Michael was silent for a few seconds and I managed to slowly slip my hand out of his subtly and place it in my lap, Michael didn't think anything was strange with that motion.

"Who have the Wraith taken from you?" Michael asked suddenly.

The question had me looking away from him, bringing up painful memories for me, knowing that this man in front of me had previously been a Wraith, it stung knowing that, "My father, he was killed last year by them." I worked up the courage to look Michael in the eyes, "Aiden Ford. My best friend was attacked and killed by them. My Godfather was also killed by them, not to mention the multiple times that me and my team have been captured by them, not knowing if we would get out of their ships alive."

"I'm sorry," Michael breathed out, I could see the sincerity in his eyes. He shifted towards me, his hand coming to rest on my thigh as I snapped my head down to look at it and then back up at him, "Can I ask you a question?" He asked me.

I couldn't form words at the moment, all I could think about was the fact that his hand was on my thigh and it was freaking me out. It felt human and warm but it felt wrong. When I didn't answer Michael he continued anyway.

"You said that you weren't on the rescue mission because of a conflict of interest. Was it because of me?" He asked. I knew where this question was going; I could see it in his body language and in his eyes. "Mia?"

"Um…" I started to talk but stopped, I couldn't figure out a thing to say to him. I was stunned at his question, not expecting it to have come up so soon and in this scenario. I felt stupid at saying what I had told him the other day, why couldn't I have said anything else instead of implying that we had a relationship. I had dug my own grave, and I was about to throw myself into it.

"Are we together? Is that why you're doing this?" He asked.

I felt my heart race at his words, my head started to spin. What do I say? Yes or no? What would happen if I said yes? Or no? While I was still speechless and trying to think of something to say, I missed the fact that Michael had begun leaning in until I felt his lips press against mine. I jumped back, my hands pushing his shoulders away as I stood up from the seat.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked me, his look pleading.

I took a few steps back, away from him, my head reeling at what had just happened between us, this wasn't supposed to happen, "I have to go." I said to him in a whisper. I saw the painful confusion on his face as I turned tail and strode out of the room. The security guards gave me a funny look as I walked passed them, once I was out of eyesight of Michael and the gym I ran at a full sprint through the corridors of Atlantis.

* * *

I made my way straight to the observation room where I knew everyone would be, it was early in the morning and they would be convening about their daily talks with Michael. I was supposed to be up here but had thought a quick gym session wouldn't be so bad before I met with them, oh how wrong I had been.

I took the stairs two at a time, pushing the door open and startling the six people in the room as they turned their heads to look at me. I noticed on the monitor behind John and Rodney, Michael had just entered his room.

"Major Sumner? We were just waiting on you." Elizabeth said, greeting me with a polite nod.

"I want out." I demanded. Elizabeth and Carson looked at each other in shock, exchanging glances as I saw John straighten up on the table, staring at me, he could tell something was up by the look on my face.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked me.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't keep lying to him," I said, throwing my hands out in exasperation, "He's been having dreams about the Wraith; him being a Wraith more specifically. I can't do this." I said to them.

Elizabeth nodded in understanding, "I understand. Has he only had the one dream?" She asked me.

I held my head, trying to think back on what Michael said, "Yeah, I think so. He thinks that the Wraith did something to him during his capture."

"Can you do something to help him?" Elizabeth asked Carson who was next to her.

Carson shrugged slightly, "Perhaps I can give him a sedative to help him sleep. Or I could increase his dosage, although I question against it at this time."

"Why?" Rodney questioned, "If it's helping him what's wrong with giving him more?"

Carson sent Rodney and annoyed look, "Because, Rodney, I specifically calibrated his regimen according to his current physical condition. Any alteration could adversely affect his recovery. I say we remain patient—wait to see if he has any more dreams. If it's merely psychological, then Doctor Heightmeyer should be able to help him through it."

I let the two argue as I crossed my arms and gnawed on my bottom lip nervously, do I tell them about what had just happened between Michael and me in the gym, did it really matter? I had told Elizabeth that I wanted out of this experiment and it seemed like she had accepted it, but would she really if I don't tell her what actually happened between us?

"There's more, isn't there?" John cut through my train of thought as I glanced up, seeing everyone staring at me. John's hazel gaze was staring straight at me, he obviously knew that there was something else; I can never hide anything from him.

I sighed and shifted my weight on my feet, there was no point in hiding it, if I told John in a public place with everyone around he was less likely to cause a scene, then again, he could do the complete opposite, "He thinks we're in a relationship with one another." I told them. Elizabeth finally caught on to why I wanted out, "I'm already lying to him about who he is, you can't ask me to lie about that too. I can't do it, it's wrong in so many different ways." I said to them, reminding them that Michael did in fact used to be a Wraith. I knew they wouldn't forget it but for them it was like the line had been blurred.

"It's ok, Major. We understand, and I don't want to put you in a position that you don't feel comfortable in." Elizabeth said sincerely to me. I silently thanked her.

"Why do we just not tell him the truth?" Teyla voiced her opinion, finally taking the spotlight off me finally, "I am beginning to question whether our course of action is the correct one."

It seemed Teyla's question had them all thinking hard about it, it seems they were finally realizing what I had told them from the start. With nothing else to say to them, and knowing that I was out of the Michael dilemma for good I left the room quietly, wanting to slip quietly and head to my room to scrub my teeth and swizzle my mouth with mouth wash for about an hour.

I didn't get very far before I heard running footsteps, "Mia." John said my name as I stopped to let him catch up. I tried to keep my face emotionless, I didn't want to tell him about the kiss, but I knew I had to; I just didn't want to do it here. To be honest my emotions were all over the place about this I just wanted to cry, and I never cry.

John reached out to me, holding onto my shoulder as his eyes searched over my face, "What happened with Michael?" He asked. I kept my lips firmly tight, I knew for a fact that if I told John what had happened he was going to get pissed and I was more then likely about to start crying. "Mia?" He said my name again.

I felt the dam break, "He kissed me." I whispered ever so quietly, brushing away the escaped tears quickly so that John wouldn't see them. I hated it when I cried in front of him.

"He what?" John barked out, from his tone of voice he was furious. I tilted my head up, hesitant to look him in the eyes. John had asked a question but I knew he had heard me.

"Please don't be mad at me, I pushed him away the second it happened!" I said desperately to him. I didn't want John to be mad at me, I didn't want him thinking that I had wanted to kiss Michael, I sure as hell didn't want to. It surprised me when John pulled me to him; he pressed my cheek into his chest, his fingers weaving into my loose hair as his other arm went around my shoulders tenderly. We were standing out in a public place, anyone could walk around the corner and see us but this part of the city was pretty deserted. I wrapped my arms around his firm waist, shutting my eyes and listening to the steady beating of his heart under my ear.

"I'm not mad at you." John whispered into my ear as I let out a sigh of relief. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders as I squeezed him tightly. I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head, "What happened with him?" John asked.

I pulled away, holding John at arms length as I recalled what had transpired in the gym earlier this morning, "I went to the gym, I didn't know he was going to be there. He looked tired, I asked him what was wrong and he told me about his dream. After that he asked me about why I wasn't on the rescue mission, he thought that because I wasn't there it was because I had personal feelings about him." I ran my hand through my hair, watching John's expression as I continued my story, "I didn't know what to say to him. I was afraid that if I said no he would ask more questions about everything, and then before I knew it he kissed me. I pushed him away and ran as fast as I could straight to all of you."

John could hear the nervousness in my voice as he flicked my hair over my shoulder, brushing his fingers over my exposed skin on my neck, "You couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"I did know." I said to him, frowning, "The signs were all there, John. It's just like Ford all over again. I didn't want to admit it to myself, you even said it to me; and I didn't listen to you."

"You can't blame yourself for this," John argued.

"Too late." I muttered, stepping away from him. The guilt was eating at me as John brushed the back of his hand over my cheek. I sighed, "Look, I just want to go and brush my teeth and try and forget this ever happened."

"You want me to go with you?" John asked me.

I thought about it for a second and then shook my head, "No, I think we just need to keep our distance still. I don't know what would happen if Michael found out."

"I'm not afraid of Michael." John said with a sneer. I could tell that I had offended his pride. It caused me to crack a smile.

"I know you're not, but I am."

"Michael's not going to hurt you, not with me around." John said firmly.

I smiled softly, reaching up and pressing a kiss to his cheek, "Thank you, you put up with a lot from me."

"I always have your back, Mia."

"I know, and I love you for it." I said with a smile. John returned it. I thought about my situation for a moment, and realized that I was afraid that something might happen with Michael, and I didn't want to be alone if he came looking for me, "Stay with me tonight." I said.

John's face lit up, he planted a kiss to my own cheek, gave my hand a quick squeeze then headed in the opposite direction. I watched him leave with a sigh and then walked off too.

X

I was towel drying my hair later that night, I was lazing around in my cotton shorts and black tank top as I went to my laptop that was open on my desk and checked over my emails, making sure that I had sent out my report about Michael for the day while also replying to a chain email that I had with Lorne. I tossed the towel onto my bed as I fetched my hairbrush from the bathroom and started combing the knots out of it. As I returned to the room I heard the alarm for the door go off. I grinned, knowing that it was going to be John as I practically skipped over to the door and waved my hand over the sensor, turning my back on it as I wondered further into the room.

"I know I said to keep our distance and everything but it was just too hard," I said jokingly as I set the hairbrush down on the desk. I heard my doors slide shut as I frowned slightly when John didn't reply. I glanced over my shoulder at him, my smile dropping off my face as I my body froze where I stood. It was certainly not John who I had just let into my room, that's for sure.

"Michael."

* * *

John opened the door to the security room, a steaming mug of coffee in his hands as he sipped at it, wincing as it still slightly burnt his tongue. The two men watching the monitors looked over their shoulders and greeted the Colonel with a nod.

"Evening gents," John said. Moving to stand behind them and peer over their shoulders. He knew he was supposed to be going to Mia's room around this time but he had just wanted to check up on Michael before he left for the night, just to make sure everything was squeaky clean.

John looked at the two monitors before him that recorded a live feed into Michael's room, his brow furrowed when he saw that the room was empty, he glanced down at his watch, noting that the time was nearing ten pm. Michael was generally in his room by this time, either asleep or getting ready, so where the hell was he?

"Where's our man?" John asked.

The Marine on the left turned in his chair to face John, "His escorts radioed about fifteen minutes ago saying that Major Sumner had requested him to meet at her quarters."

"And they let him go?" John said in outrage. The two Marines shared a look together as John slammed down his coffee on the table, the hot liquid spilling onto the desk as he bolted out of the room.

* * *

Michael and I held each other's stare for a few seconds before I shifted my weight nervously. My eyes flicked to the closed door and then back to his piercing blue eyes, from his body language he didn't look like he had come here to argue, but I still didn't like it that he was in my room, alone with me. After what had happened in the gym today I was weary of him and what he could do.

"What are you doing here, Michael?" I asked him, crossing my arms and frowning at him.

Michael raised his hands in the air, "I just wanted to talk." He said quietly. I wanted to tell him that it was a bit late for a talk, it was night, I was getting ready for bed and if he wanted to talk to me he could've waited until tomorrow in a crowded and public place. I looked to the door again, I knew that his escort would be stationed outside, all I had to do was make them take Michael back to his quarters and everything would be fine. I made a move to walk to the door, and felt alarm bells ring in my head when Michael stepped in front of me, blocking me from going to the door. His hands grasped my arms, holding me in place.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, caution in my tone.

"I just want to talk to you," Michael begged me, his eyes pleading. I couldn't see any bad intentions in them but I still didn't like the fact that he was in here with me.

"About what, Michael?" I asked him, trying to pull myself out of his grasp but he was strong, stronger then I expected him to be.

"About you—me—us." Michael said.

I frowned deeply, not wanted to discuss this at all with him. I managed to pull myself away from him, stepping out of his reach, "There is no us, Michael." I snapped at him. His expression darkened as I felt my heart race, I needed to get out of here. I bee lined it for the door, raising my hand to wave it over the sensor when I felt Michael grab my wrist painfully and tug me back to him.

"Mia, just wait—"

"Let me go." I muttered threateningly, meeting his gaze head on. I tried to pry my wrist out of his grasp but it didn't work.

"Then why were you doing all of that for me?" Michael asked, his voice rising in anger, "What did any of it mean to you? Do I mean anything to you?"

I struggled some more against him, "Let me go, Michael!" I yelled.

"Not until you tell me what's going on!" He retorted back.

"There is nothing going on between us!" I finally admitted.

Michael's face turned into rage, "You're lying to me!" I found myself pushed up against the wall as I narrowed my eyes at Michael.

"I'm not lying, Michael. There is nothing between us." I tried to move passed the pissed off man but he tossed me back against the wall. I snapped. With sharp movements I thrust the side of my hand right into Michael's throat. He choked on his spit and held his neck as I grabbed his arm and twisted it, using his body weight to send his body flipping over and onto the ground. He groaned in pain as I kept his wrist twisted as I planted my foot on his chest to keep him there.

"Now, next time I tell you to let go of me, I suggest you listen, _Michael_. Or your throat wont be the only thing I go for." I barked at him.

My door opened suddenly as I snapped my head up, watching in amusement as John came skidding to halt, his hand hovering over his glock as the two security guards looked positively petrified for some reason behind him. John's wide hazel eyes looked from Michael on the floor, to me holding onto his bent wrist and foot placed firmly on his chest.

"Perfect timing Colonel. I was just demonstrating some extra credit moves to the good Lieutenant here," I said in a teasing tone as I finally released Michael. I stepped away from the Wraith turned human as Michael glared at me, rubbing his shoulder and throat.

"Escort Michael back to his quarters, Marines." John ordered, not even glancing back at them as Michael pushed himself onto his legs. He sent me a hateful glare and John a suspicious look as he left my room, his pride obviously wounded hard. Once the door had shut with John and I left alone in the room I slumped my shoulders, releasing the anxious breath I had been holding for the past minute and a half as John hurried over to me.

"What the hell was that? Why was he here? Are you ok?" He fired off his questions as I walked to my desk and fell into the chair, exhausted from what had just transpired with Michael.

"I'm fine," I told John as I heard him stand behind me. "He wanted to know more about us, he still thought that we were together in some way. He grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go so I decided to teach him a lesson." I said with a shrug.

"He grabbed you?" John asked in outrage, reaching for my hand as I tried to pull it away.

"Stop, it's fine." I told him, folding my arms across my chest.

"It's not fine, Mia." John said angrily as he took my arm, the one Michael had grabbed and held it up to the desk light. I gasped when I saw the purple and red bruise already forming, "He hurt you." My eyes were glued to the bruise as John ran his fingers over it tenderly, "I'm so sorry, Mia."

I frowned, pulling my arm out of his grasp as I glared up at him in confusion, "Why the hell are you apologizing, you didn't do this to me!" I said accusingly. I didn't want John to take the blame for this, he had never hurt me physically before, and he never would, so why the hell was he apologizing?

"I promised you that Michael wouldn't hurt you while I was around, and he did just that. I let you get hurt."

"I'm just accident prone, and didn't you say I attract the wrong sort of men to me like a few weeks ago?" I said with one eyebrow raised, trying to make light of the situation as John sent me a disapproving look. With a gentle tug he made me stand up from my desk chair as he raised my injured arm up to his mouth and pressed a tender kiss to the sore flesh, causing goosebumps to appear on my skin. I smiled up at him, wrapping my arms around his torso and leaning my cheek against his shoulder.

"He really scared you didn't he." John stated quietly. I knew I wouldn't be able to hide it from him. He could tell from my deflective reaction that what had happened with Michael had scared me.

"I don't want Ronon to find out." I said to him.

"What?"

"If Ronon finds out that Michael hurt me, he'll kill him. I heard about the altercation they had this afternoon, you know as well as I do that Ronon wont let this slide if he finds out."

"I can't keep this from him, Mia." John said scoffing at me.

"You have to! Michael was confused and I don't think he meant to hurt me, besides, I was being kind of a bitch to him about it."

"That doesn't mean you deserved him to grab you so tightly that it leaves a mark; and why the hell are you so worried about Ronon killing him? Don't you understand how hard it is for me to stand here with you and not physically harm Michael myself? First he kisses you in the gym and then assaults you in your own room for god sake! He's lucky that his escorts were there." John grumbled angrily.

I cupped his face in my hands, running my thumbs across his cheeks as I managed a weak smile, "I don't want to make things worse then they already are, so I'm asking you, because you love me, that you'll keep this between us."

John gritted his teeth, looking less then pleased with my request, it was clear to me that what he really wanted to do was chase Michael down and probably get in a few good punches himself, but I had already sent Michael the message that I didn't want to see him anymore and John knew that, "You aren't to go anywhere near Michael again. Stay as far away from him as possible and stay close to Ronon, I don't care if you have to braid his hair, you aren't leaving his side when I'm not around."

"John…" I whined, I hated it when he got all serious like this.

"Mia, I'm not taking any chances with you. We have no idea what is going on in Michael's head, and if he tried anything else, Ronon or me are going to be there to stop him."

"I can kick his ass on my own, I already did tonight!" I argued.

John bent his head and pressed a hard kiss against my lips, catching me off guard as I leaned into his body, gripping his shirt in my hands as he pulled away, "Just let me feel like a man protecting his girlfriend for once. I know you are capable, but it's not a good look when the girl doesn't need her boyfriend sticking up for her."

"Kind of hard to when said boyfriend and girlfriend can't even do this is public," I said in a mocking tone as John ran his fingers through my hair.

"Maybe one day." He said with a wink.

"One day, maybe." I replied with a smirk.

John grinned, our fingers linking together for a few seconds before he bent down and kissed me again, I sighed into him, feeling at ease with everything that had happened as he pulled away, "There's something I have to do."

He untangled himself from me and headed to the door, I felt cold and empty with him leaving me alone in my room that I had to ask, "Will you be back?"

John tossed a smirk over his shoulder at me, his signature half smile and twinkle in his eye, "Always." He said. It was the word he always said to me when I asked him to be careful. It made me smile as I watched him leave my room, knowing that he will be back.

* * *

John had already given the order for the Marine's in the security room to take a short five-minute 'break' while he visited Michael's quarters. He didn't want this recorded or watched, it was personal and no one but him and Michael were going to know about this.

John told the Marine's to wait around the corner, still near enough if something should happen between them but far enough away so that they wouldn't hear their conversation. With his face set in stone he marched to the door, knocking twice but not waiting for a reply as he entered the room, spotting Michael lounging on the bed with his arms tucked behind his head.

"Colonel Sheppard," Michael drawled, sitting up in his bed and tossing his legs over the side, "Can't say I'm surprised to see you here."

"I want to know what happened between you and Major Sumner." John demanded, not playing around with the Lieutenant.

Michael scoffed, standing up from his bed and taking a few steps towards the very pissed off Colonel, "I would've thought she told you everything."

"She did." John snapped, "But I want to hear it from you, make sure your stories match up."

"Why? Don't you trust her?" Michael asked, tilting his head slightly, his tone condescending. John could tell that Michael was toying with him, and it was aggravating him way more then it should.

John sighed sharply, "The Major has been known to cover the other person's ass to protect them, she's done it before with a previous Lieutenant, and I know that on some level she cared about you as a friend."

"I see you used the word 'cared'." Michael chuckled.

"Answer the question," John spat at him.

Michael bit on the inside of his cheek, a grin forming as he sighed, "Major Sumner made it very clear how she felt about me, Colonel. You don't have to worry about it." Michael said with a leering smirk.

"I worry about her." John let slip by accident. Michael could tell that he was pressing all the right buttons to get a rise out of the Colonel.

"Oh, I can tell," Michael said. Stepping closer to John, "And I can tell that you don't like to _share_ her." Michael saw something snap behind John's hazel eyes.

John's had been pushed to the very limit with Michael, and his comment had just sent him over the deep end. He felt his self-control break, and in one fluid and fast motion, he pulled back his arm and curled his fist, plunging it right into Michael's jaw, sending the man reeling and falling back onto his bed in a heap. John's jaw was locked in rage, his eyes blazing with a fire to continue whaling into him, but he had gotten in the one good punch, it was all he needed to send his message.

"Stay away from her, and if I catch you within twenty feet of her your jaw isn't going to be the only thing hurting." John threatened, pointing his finger at the man.

Michael was rubbing his sore jaw, it was clicking painfully as he moved it side to side, he felt the need to mock what John had just said, seeing as it was almost identical to what Mia had said to him back in her room; but before he could even get a word out he heard the door to his room open and shut as he was left alone once more.

X

John found himself entering the semi dark room, the only source of light coming from the moonlight filtering in through the silk curtains draped over the window. He made out Mia's form asleep in her bed as he approached her quietly. He could hear her soft and cute snores, telling him that she was definitely out for the count. Her hair was splayed out across the pillow as he watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. A smile played at the corner of his mouth.

Mia was worth the ache he was feeling in his knuckles right now. She would probably smack him up the head when she found out what he had done tonight, but she was worth it. He could very well be in trouble with Elizabeth and the higher ups if Michael told them what had happened, he had obviously figured out that he and Mia were together and John didn't know what would happen in the morning, the whole base could know about them being together…and funnily enough, John didn't have a problem with that anymore.

If he got reassigned or dishonorably discharged, so what, Mia was worth it. They could go back to Earth, or find a nice place with the Athosian's, settle down together and maybe start a family. John smiled at the thought of having a family with Mia, he and Nancy had never really had time for kids, and the discussion was only ever brought up a few times, but John had the strong desire to see Mia baring his child, or children even, if he was lucky. They had never even discussed marriage or children, and maybe it was time to. He knew that he was never going to be with anyone else but Mia Sumner, she was his whole world now, he was tethered to her.

John was brought out of his thoughts when Mia groaned in her sleep, her lips opening as she sighed his name in her sleep, for a second he thought she had woken up, but she rolled over onto her side, her snores starting up again.

John decided that one day soon he would talk to her about a family, but in their current position, it wasn't possible right now. What was possible was curling up with her in bed. He stripped off his clothes, kicking his boots to the corner of the room as he peeled back the cover and slipped under, his arm snaking around her waist as he pulled her flush against his chest, pressing a soft kiss to the skin behind her ear.

"John?" She mumbled sleepily. John heard the slight fear in her voice; she was probably worried it was Michael again.

"I'm here, go back to sleep baby." He whispered to her lovingly as her head dropped back onto the pillow. John ran his fingers through her silky locks as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, the love of his life in his arms. Just before John fell asleep, a thought floated across his mind as he smirked.

 _Mia Sheppard_ _does have a nice ring to it._

* * *

 **Loooooooooorrrddddd, how cute! I'm sure many of you have been dying for John and Mia to bring up marriage and babies for a loooong long time, and yes, it will be happening very soon. On another note. Michael's a dickhead, but we already knew that! xD We haven't seen the last of Michael and Mia, as I'm sure you all already know what the season finale entails. And yes this is the ending of the episode Michael, next episode will just be a short recap seeing as we all know what happens on the Alpha site planet and I thought it would really be meaningless to add it in there. I hope I kept John in character as much as I could with his fated Michael confrontation to the best of my ability, I know he might have been a bit ooc towards the end, but alas, love does crazy things to a man...**

 **REPLIES**

 **Julka212** \- I hate and love myself sometimes too xD I can imagine the faces some people give you if you randomly start laughing out loud! I've always wanted someone to catch them in the act and I thought it would be either Ronon or Lorne but in the end it made more sense for Lorne to go down there. I think Rodney would've been a hoot too xD That would've been hilarious to write! Thank you for the well wishes!

 **Guest 64** \- Thank you, it means a lot to me for you saying that! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

 **Adela** \- Thank you! I've always pictured their relationship as a brother/sister duo. Their interactions are always my favourite to write!

 **teekee hut** \- Oh god at least you're enjoying it! I cringe so hard hahaha xD it had to be Lorne busting them, there was no one else that could do it more perfectly xD


	66. Emergence - Chapter 66

**Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"Teyla!" I called out in concern as I jogged down the control room stairs just as the gate shut down. John, Ronon, Carson and Teyla had returned from the Alpha site, with Teyla looking worse for wear as I threw myself against her, "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" I asked her, pulling away and holding her at arms length.

The past couple of days had been hectic around here; on the same night that Michael had attacked me he had figured out who he really was by stealing his medical recordings from the isolation ward. It had been decided to take Michael off base and try the retrovirus again. I had stayed behind, part willingly and part because John had practically ordered me too, I didn't have the energy to argue with him over things like that anymore. During the time at the Alpha site, Michael had managed to use some of his old Wraith abilities to take Teyla hostage and leave the planet with her, John and Ronon had gone after her, thankfully recovering her before any harm could've been done to her.

"I am fine." Teyla said to me with a sigh. I looked her over, not taking her word for it; but she did look ok, she had a few scratches on her arms and she looked exhausted but overall she did look all right.

"We need to inform Doctor Weir on what happened," John said as he approached me, placing his hand on my shoulder as I glanced up at him.

I frowned in concern, "What do you mean?"

John paused for a second, looking to Teyla and Ronon before speaking, "Michael turned back into a Wraith."

"But you radioed telling us you shot him, isn't he dead?" I pressed, looking to all of their somber faces as I felt the fear well up within me.

"He contacted the Wraith nearby," John explained to me. I raised a hand to my forehead, my brain reeling as I thought about what this meant for us. "We shot him but we can't be sure that he's dead. The Wraith picked him up and took him onto their ship."

"I think I'm going to be sick." I muttered, holding my mouth. Carson was immediately at my side, checking my temperature as I waved him off. I met John's concerned gaze. I think I was more terrified of the fact that Michael had some weird obsession with me, and I didn't know what the hell would've happened had it been me at the Alpha site with him. I knew that he and Teyla had bonded with a certain friendship and he had probably caught her off guard with his Wraith mind control abilities, but who knows if I would've been still alive at the end of it.

"What happens now?" I asked quietly, shooing off Carson once more as he tried to place the palm of his hand against my forehead.

"We hunt him down." Ronon grunted as John sent him a pointed look.

"We be vigilant," John compromised. Something caught his eye from above as the rest of us turned to see what he was looking at. Elizabeth had appeared at the top of the stairs, she motioned with her head for all of us to follow her into the conference room. Rodney trailed behind her as the rest of us ascended the stairs and headed into the room.

X

Once inside the room I took a seat at the table as Teyla came and sat next to me, I gave her a reassuring smile that I was sure didn't reach my eyes as Elizabeth started asking questions about what had happened.

"He had completely transformed back into a Wraith?" She asked.

"Not completely, but well on his way," John answered somberly.

Carson sighed, "His reversion occurred at a much more accelerated rate than we anticipated."

"Unfortunately," Teyla added in quietly, "His memory of what we did to him remained intact." I felt a deep shudder through my body as I wrapped my arms around my stomach.

"I should've killed him when I had the chance," Ronon growled, leaning on the desk and looking murderous. After everything that had happened, Michael killing one of the guards and attacking both Teyla and I, I had to agree with him now. I felt like a hypocrite for thinking it, but Michael had chosen his path now.

"He's right," Rodney blurted out, "We are totally screwed. Not only has our dear Lieutenant rejoined the Wraith, but he's taken with him the knowledge that Atlantis still exists." Rodney made a valid point there; I could hear the panic in his voice.

"God knows what type of Intel he was able to pick up during his stay," John said, his eyes glancing over at me for a second as I looked away sheepishly.

"They will send another wave of hive ships." Teyla stated ominously.

"Probably already on their way." Ronon added through gritted teeth.

"And this time, I'm guessing they're not going to fall for the whole invisibility trick," Rodney said with a deadpan look to all of us. I turned my gaze over to Elizabeth who was staring down at her clasped hands in frustration and worry.

"We need to come up with a new defense plan," she said with a sigh.

"We're going to need more fire power," John told her with a pointed look.

"And luck." I added with a sigh.

We all continued talking for a while longer, trying to figure out ways that we could fool the Wraith when they eventually showed up on our doorstep probably in a few weeks time. Teyla was the first to excuse herself, she wasn't showing it but I guessed the situation with Michael had scared her more then she was letting on. I would go and talk to her later about it, I would've gone now but I knew from experience with these kinds of things that she would need some time alone to gather her thoughts together.

Soon I decided to depart, it was getting late and I was growing hungrier by the second, plus all the information they were tossing back and forth was starting to make my head hurt. I was at the bottom of the stairs when I heard a voice call out for me.

"Major!"

I turned to the familiar voice, seeing Elizabeth jogging down the stairs to catch up with me, "Doctor Weir?" I thought back, trying to see if I had left something in the room for her to catch up with me, "Is everything ok?" I asked her.

Elizabeth stood on step above mine, making us eye level seeing as she was a little bit shorter then me, "I wanted to apologise to you." She said, causing me to reel back slightly in shock.

"Apologise?" I clarified, "For what?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath, "You were right." She said, meeting my gaze head on while I was still confused as to what the hell was going on, "It was a bad idea for us to do what we did with Michael, and you understood that from the beginning—"

"Doctor Weir, please you don't have to do this." I said to her, accidentally cutting her off.

"I want to." She said firmly, making me shut my mouth and listen, "You knew that this was a bad idea and we didn't listen to you, for that I am sorry."

"You couldn't have known that this was going to happen, none of us did," I explained to her sympathetically, "And for the record, I did agree to be apart of it in the end."

"Which also put you in harms way," Elizabeth said with a pointed look as I stared at her in confusion. What did she mean by that? She couldn't possibly… "Colonel Sheppard told me what happened with Michael." She admitted guiltily.

I sighed, a smirk crossing my lips, "Of course he did…what happened between Michael and me—I resolved the issue myself."

"I know," Elizabeth said with a knowing smile. I bit down on my lip, thinking back to the scuffle I had with Michael and how I had put him in his place in three seconds flat. "Please accept my apology." Elizabeth continued with a hopeful smile.

"It's not needed, but I accept it." I told her with a smile.

After a few seconds Elizabeth cleared her throat, "Well—I'll um…I'll let you go, I have a large stack of paperwork to fill out because of this, and I can tell you the IOA is _not_ going to be happy." Elizabeth chuckled nervously as I tried to give her a reassuring smile, I was very happy I didn't have to deal with any of that like she did. "Goodnight, Major."

"Night, Doctor Weir." I replied with a curt nod as I turned on my heel and left the control room.

* * *

"Are you eating that or inhaling it?" Rodney asked me three days later in the morning in the mess hall. I looked up from shoveling the scrambled eggs into my mouth to send him a glare as he sat down opposite me.

"You're up early." I commented, drinking my juice to wash down the eggs as Rodney started to dig into his own breakfast.

"So are you." He countered with a snide glare as I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'm always up this early," I said as I continued eating. Rodney and I both lapsed into silence as we ate our own breakfasts, it wasn't long before Teyla and Ronon joined us, John coming round not long after them.

"Sleep well, Major?" John asked me politely, setting his tray down next to me as I sent him an annoyed look.

"Tossed and turned all night, sir." I replied.

It was true that I had a shitty nights sleep, I had slept for a couple of hours then woken up and had tossed and turned for hours before my fidgeting had woken John up. He had scolded me about waking him up at two in the morning; I had reminded him that if I had woken him up _another_ way he wouldn't be complaining. I had decided to go for a run that had lasted a couple of hours. I had showered and readied myself up in my uniform and headed to the mess hall for a very early breakfast.

I assumed my lack of sleep was because of the impending threat of Michael that we had, we had no idea when he would show up again or what he would do when he did, and that terrified me more then the normal Wraith that we had to deal with.

"Have you spoken to Doctor Beckett about this?" Teyla asked me in her mother hen voice as I looked over at her.

I shrugged my shoulders, "It's no big deal. I feel fine, just tired but ready to seize the day." I said, throwing my fist into the air with a grimace as Teyla sent me a questionable look with one of her eyebrows raised in concern.

" _Colonel Sheppard please have your team report to the control room."_ A voice said over the comms.

John groaned loudly, "I didn't even get to finish my food!" He whined. Ronon smirked, shoveling food into his large mouth while starting to stand as Teyla quickly ate her toast. Luckily for Rodney and I we had gotten here much earlier so we had already finished eating.

"Sorry that the crisis couldn't wait for you," I muttered smartly in John's direction as he sent me a deathly glare. I chuckled and took one of his pieces of toast, used the fork to scoop the eggs onto it and folded it over, squishing it down and then shoving it into John's mouth as he yelped in surprise, "Happy?" I questioned with a giggle as I picked up my tray and followed the others.

As we were walking out of the mess hall John fell into step beside me, still chomping down on the makeshift eggs sandwich as he nudged my shoulder playfully, "You should make me breakfast more often." He said as I rolled my eyes at him.

"You're such a dumbass." I laughed at him.

X

My team and I arrived at the control room together as Elizabeth was looking over the shoulder of the technician, when she heard us approaching she looked up.

"What's the problem?" John asked her as he finished his food.

"Play it back, Chuck." Elizabeth instructed to the technician as he nodded, "This came in a few minutes ago from a planet we've never encounter before."

" _I am calling from Taranis. Our scientists found this gate address in our data logs. We urgently require assistance from anyone who can help us, please."_

"Have you heard of that planet?" Elizabeth asked Teyla and Ronon. I looked round at them to see their answer but they both shook their heads.

"Never heard of them." Ronon answered gruffly.

"My people have never traded with them." Teyla said to Elizabeth.

"Could it be a trap?" I asked the question I knew they must have all been thinking.

John rubbed his forehead, "They sounded pretty desperate."

"Or very convincing." Rodney added with a worried look, "Do we have their address in our database?" Rodney asked Chuck as he moved over to one of the free computers.

"It's the very last address. There's one other thing," Chuck said, "When they relayed their message, the transmission was coming from an Ancient console."

"What does that mean?" John asked him.

Rodney sighed in annoyance, "It means that they're most likely in an Ancient outpost of some sort, they have the same consoles as us." He said. There was silence for a minute, Elizabeth and John both thinking over this, could we take the risk and help these people with whatever problem they were having?

"Ok." Elizabeth finally said after the long silence, "Colonel take your team and a MALP to another planet, dial their address and see what happens. Report back to me with what you find." Elizabeth ordered at John gave her a curt nod. John glanced back at myself, Teyla and Ronon and told us to gear up as we complied and left the control room.

* * *

"Impressive." John said in awe as he glanced out of the large window overlooking the landscape on Taranis. I stood back with Teyla and Ronon, glancing around the Ancient outpost curiously. Rodney had handed me a data pad before we had left and told me that I would be helping him with any repairs that we found. I was itching to plug in the data pad and see if there was any new technology for us to discover here.

"This is our central control room." The blonde woman called Norina said. She had been the one to send the distress call out and was also the lead scientist here on Taranis. She was tall, skinny and blonde and my jealousy was rearing it's ugly head like usual when I saw a pretty person on one of our missions. I could already tell that Rodney was smitten with Norina as I had already reminded him three times to pick his jaw up off the floor since we got here. Norina turned and stopped by a console that was familiar to me but not at the same time, if that made any sense. "And this is our shield generator control." She said.

Rodney followed behind her like a little puppy as he looked over the console, "The austerity of the facility suggests that it was built during the height of war." Rodney commented from looking at the design.

"It is well beyond our science. My skills are rudimentary at best." Norina admitted bashfully.

John, ever the chivalrous man gave her a charming smile, "Ah, don't be so hard on yourself. It took Doctor McKay years to figure out all things Ancient and he still doesn't completely understand." I couldn't hold back my smirk at John's remark as I saw Rodney's pissed off glare.

"I have a very firm grasp of Ancient technology." He said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I would like to point out that it took my under a year to understand the Ancient language and systems." I said gleefully, holding my finger up in the air with a smile.

Norina looked impressed with me as I saw John roll his eyes from behind her. "Oh please." Rodney groaned, "I taught you everything you know, that says something about me too, you know." Rodney grumbled at me.

"At least I haven't blown up a solar system." I countered with a smirk.

Rodney scoffed at me, "It was three quarters."

"Like that makes it any better?" I said incredulously at him.

"Children." John said with a warning tone to both Rodney and I. We both faced away from each other just as the door opened up and an older man walked in. His hair was grey and he wore a long trench coat.

"Are these our guests?" He asks, looking to us.

"Yes, Chancellor." Norina spoke up as she moved over to his side while introducing us, "Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Doctor Rodney McKay, Major Mia Sumner, Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex." I waved slightly. "Chancellor Lycus." Norina said pointing to the old man.

"Welcome to Taranis." Lycus said warmly with a gentle smile at all of us.

"Thank you." John replied with a curt nod.

"And thank you for finally answering our calls for assistance. We tried several addresses from the database but were beginning to wonder if anyone could hear us." Lycus said.

John grimaced slightly as I caught the guilty look on his face, "Sorry about that—we like to keep a low profile."

"So as to not attract the attention of the Wraith." Teyla added softly.

Lycus seemed to understand as he nodded, "I see. Well, hopefully you can help us. Our shield generator has been giving us trouble for some time now. Our knowledge of the technology is limited, and the Ancestors regrettably neglected to leave behind instruction manuals." Lycus chuckled.

Rodney laughed mockingly, "Actually they did. You probably just couldn't under—"

"The good news is," John spoke over Rodney, effectively cutting him off from insulting the good people, "You found our address. I'm sure we can fix whatever needs fixing." John said with a smile to them.

Rodney pulls a face at John, "And by 'we' he means me, so—" Rodney reaches behind his back and pulls off his data pad which had been stuck to his back with Velcro—"Shall _we_ get started." He muttered grumpily, staring at Lycus and Norina as the two Taranians gave each other hopeful looks.

Norina steps closer to Rodney, a pleasant smile on her face, "I'm sure I could learn a lot from you, Doctor."

Rodney looked baffled at her statement as his eyes widened, "Oh, well—I'm sure I can learn…um…" He trailed off in embarrassment, not used to a woman so willingly wanting to be in his overbearing presence. "Let's start here, shall we?" Rodney points to the shield console as Norina follows him over. Teyla and Ronon caught my attention as I see them both grinning at Rodney with smirks on their faces.

"In the meantime, perhaps you would like a tour of the facility?" Lycus offered to myself, John, Teyla and Ronon.

"Lead the way." John said with a smile.

As we were walking out of the room I could hear the snapping of fingers, "Not you!" I knew exactly whom Rodney was talking to as I turned and grimaced at him.

"Really, Rodney? You can't handle this by yourself?" I asked him with a whine.

"You said it yourself, Miss-I'm-smarter-then-Rodney-McKay. Now get over here and start running these diagnostics."

I groaned loudly and felt someone come and stand next to me, "Try not to blow the facility up, will you?" John said to me with a chuckle as I sent him a deadpan look.

"That's his specialty, not mine."

"I heard that!" Rodney hollered.

I frowned over at the overbearing scientist, "Good!" I snapped at him.

"Good luck with these two, Norina." John said with a mock salute and headed out of the room while I shuffled over to the console and sat down next to Rodney, giving him an almighty glare as Norina tried to hide her smile.

X

"John you've got to let me look at this thing." I said pleadingly, my hands clasped in front of my face.

"No, Mia." John said sternly to me as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Come on!" I whined, "You can't tell me that there's a massive spaceship underground and not let me go see it! The last time you came across one you had to blow it up and I didn't even get to see it as I was too busy getting kidnapped." I reminded him.

John shook his head at me, "Once you and Rodney have finished repairing the shield generator then you can go look at the spaceship, but not before, got it?"

I pouted childishly at him, "You're a real buzz kill, you know that?"

"I know." John agreed with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm heading back to fill Elizabeth in on what's going on here. Can I trust you to not go anywhere near it until I get back, or do I have to take you home with me?" John asked.

I waggled my eyebrows at him, "Depends on what will happen to me if I go down there. What will my punishment be?" I said, whispering seductively as John sent me a murderous look, which made me laugh loudly. "Scouts honor, Colonel." I said with a mock salute. John looked like he wanted to throttle me so I took that as my cue to leave him. With no one around us I blew him a kiss as John rolled his eyes and sighed, grumbling under his breath something that I couldn't hear from my distance as he walked out of the room.

I was approaching the main control room when Rodney suddenly appeared in front of me, "There you are, I need your help with something." He said, tugging sharply on my jacket as he dragged me over to the corner of the room. I forced his hand off me as I faced him.

"What's up, Doc?" I said, mimicking the old Bugs Bunny line as I leaned against the wall. I thought it was strange that Rodney had dragged me over here, it was obviously something private and important from the way he was twitching and looking over his shoulder at the door to the control room.

"I need your help…"

"You've said that already, with what?" I pressed, rolling my eyes at him.

"You're going to laugh at me." He stated pointedly.

I sighed, "If you don't tell me what you want, I'm going to do more then laugh, Rodney."

With another nervous twitching look over his shoulder he faced me and leaned in slightly closer. I gave him a strange look but allowed the closeness, "Look, one only knows that I'm not the most…versatile with charming women—" Good God I knew exactly where this was going. "—And you're a woman—you know what I mean, what I mean is that you understand the female mind and—and I do have the tendency to ramble a lot, which makes this—"

"Rodney?" I interrupted, holding my hand up to his face as he stopped talking and looked at me with a shocked expression.

"Yes?"

"You're rambling now." I said with another pointed look at him.

"What? Oh." He realized. He shook his head at me. "Look I want your help with—wooing Norina."

I pretended to dry heave. "For starters, never say you want to woo a woman, who are you? Shakespeare?"

Rodney looked irritated, "Are you going to help me or not?"

I held in my laugh at the sight of his face as I nodded, "Of course. Now, where to begin?" I mused to myself as I took in Rodney's appearance. He was clean and proper in his uniform and jacket; he looked everything like a gentleman should. "Ok, well what have you tried so far?" I asked him.

He thought about it for a second, "Does inadequate speech count?"

 _Christ save me._

I slapped my forehead painfully and sighed loudly, I then looked Rodney in the eye as I spoke, "Look, Norina is a scientist, you're a scientist; you already have an advantage. Talk about things that interest her."

"I don't know what interests her." Rodney said with a blank look. I smacked him around the back of the head lightly. "Hey!" He exclaimed.

"That's why you ask her, you idiot!" I hissed at him. "Ask her why she got into science? Or how she got the position of the head scientist? Or just ask her about the goddamn weather, anything to make small talk."

"You make it sound like it's easy."

"It is easy." I emphasized to him, "Do I need to write you an instruction manual?" I said sarcastically as Rodney suddenly looked hopeful.

"Would you—never mind." He said once he saw the glare I directed at him.

My gaze softened after a moment, "Rodney, you're a great guy, underneath all the petty sarcasm and arrogance. Just be yourself, I'm sure you'll see that you and Norina have a lot in common."

"Rodney!" Norina came around the corner.

"Yes!" Rodney squeaked back in surprise, sounding like a little girl. He quickly cleared his throat. "Yes, Norina?" I bit back my smile at hearing Rodney squeal like a little girl.

"Some of the diagnostics are done." She said, obviously hiding her smile at hearing the almighty squeak that Rodney had tried to hide.

"Ah, yes—good." Rodney said, heading off into the room, not looking at Norina as he passed her.

* * *

It was barely an hour later when I heard footsteps enter the room from behind me, I glanced over my shoulder, my ponytail swatting my face as I grinned when I saw John was back already.

"How goes it, Rodney?" He asked the scientist who had been standing with Norina over by one of the main consoles. John set down the case he had been holding under his arm.

Rodney jerked up in surprise at seeing John back, "Uh, we are just, still running diagnostics." He stuttered. When we had gotten back into the room from my little pep talk out in the hallway Rodney had given it no initiative to try and start small talk with Norina, instead he had completely disregarded my information and had resorted to staring at her with puppy dog eyes every time she turned away from him. Classic stalker.

"Still? Thought you would have had that fixed. If you want, I can call Doctor Zelenka. I'm sure he could—"

"I can handle it, thank you!" Rodney protested loudly.

I sat back and rolled my eyes, just what the hell was I then? And I knew for a fact that John was messing with Rodney about Norina. He could tell that the scientist was smitten over the blonde, and he was trying to get a rise out of him just for the hell of it. Rodney walked over to the case that John had brought for him and opened it up, looking inside as John walked over to my console and leaned against it, giving me his charming smile as I smirked playfully.

"What are you doing back so soon? I mean, I told you this might take some time." Rodney said nervously.

I mouthed to John, ' _Leave him alone.'_

John grinned, swatting my ponytail, "Elizabeth wanted to talk to the Chancellor, see if we can establish relations with these good people."

"That would be wonderful," Norina commented with her perfect white smile.

I could see the cogs turning in John's head from the expression on his face as he spoke, "In fact, you've been working awfully hard, maybe I could—"

"No!" Rodney cried out instantly. "No, I was just about to—uh show Norina the generator log." Rodney said as he picked up his data pad and began typing away as Norina walked over to him and looked over his shoulder. "Which shows that…you've been running the shield continuously for over a year now." Rodney said in disbelief as he turned to stare at Norina.

"Yes," Norina replied, speaking like she hadn't detected the shock in Rodney's voice. "When the device was activated, you told me what it was called," Norina looked over at John.

"The long range scanners," Rodney quipped, "That's just what we call them."

"It's from an old TV show." John replied, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yes, yes," Rodney said impatiently. "What about them?"

Norina continued on, "When they indicated a sudden rise in Wraith activity last year, Chancellor Lycus ordered me to increase the strength of the shield."

"Well, that's unfortunate." Rodney groaned.

"Why?" Norina asked, perplexed.

"Because the Ancients didn't design these things to run continuously at maximum capacity," Rodney explained with the irritating tone that he used when he was stating something very obvious for himself. He shuffled over to another laptop. "Look, shields are for emergencies only, Norina. When you shut down the alarms, you overrode the failsafe's and that means that we're…"

Rodney trailed off, a look of dread crossing his face as he stared at his laptop screen. I knew that look, it had all my hair sticking up as I rose from my chair.

"What is it?" Norina asked, seeing his face.

John and I walk over to Rodney, Norina coming also as we crowd around the scientist, "The reason the Ancients chose to power this facility on geothermal energy is because we are sitting right smack in the caldera of a dormant supervolcano…or should I say formally dormant, because drawing all of this energy from the magma chamber has made it extremely active." Rodney informed us.

I felt my stomach drop as I faced the large window to my left, and sure enough, on the horizon I could make out the distinctive shape of the wall of the volcano around us.

"So, things are going to get worse." John stated quietly.

Rodney turned to him with a deadpan look, "I think we can safely say that things are going to get…worse. Yes." He muttered the last part, obviously trying to be smarter then John but failing and looking silly. "We need to get Elizabeth and the Chancellor in here. Norina you have to start evacuating your people." Rodney told her as I saw the fear flash across her face.

I turned and faced John as he was already reaching for his radio earpiece, "Elizabeth?" He said.

There was a moment of silence, " _Yes, John?"_

"You and the Chancellor may want to come down to the control room. We have a problem here."

" _What kind of problem?_ " Elizabeth asked.

The next second, all around me everything began to violently shake. There had already been a few tremors while I had been here but this one was far worse than the other two. I stumbled forwards, throwing my arms out to catch myself against the console when I felt John pull me to him and steady me. I still used one hand to brace myself against the console as the tremor finally settled down after a few seconds.

"That kind of problem!" John hollered into the radio.

With no reply I assumed that Elizabeth had got the message and was bringing Lycus down here. Rodney started busying about the room, running more diagnostics as Norina headed over to the window and looked outside. Concern and fear on her face.

* * *

I picked myself up off the floor, dusting my pants as I braced myself against the console and glanced around the control room. After explaining to Lycus and Elizabeth what we had found out and John telling them that they needed to start an evacuation Lycus had stormed off, no doubt not believing us. Elizabeth had gone after him to try and explain and twenty minutes later we had been hit by another tremor, this one more powerful then the last and had actually managed to knock me off my feet.

Pieces of debris had fallen from the ceiling and John was currently placing a bandage over one of the technician's heads that had received a wound from the falling debris.

"That one was powerful." I muttered to Rodney, who hurried back into the room from standing under the doorway.

"And they're only going to get worse." He said to me.

"Is everyone alright?" Elizabeth called out as she and Lycus hurried into the room.

"Nasty cut on his forehead." John said, pointing to the technician.

Norina was over by one of the consoles, "Reports of the wounded are coming in from the settlement." She explained, looking at the Chancellor worriedly.

"I'll call Beckett." Elizabeth stated, tearing her gaze away from the injured man to Rodney.

"You'd better make it quick. The last tremor opened a hydrothermal vent in the base. The ground is eroding beneath us." Rodney explained.

John stormed over to Lycus; "You need to get your people off this planet now." He was obviously done playing games.

"They can come to Atlantis." Elizabeth compromised. "They'll be safe there." After seeing the stony expression on Lycus' face Elizabeth let out a breath of frustration. "If we didn't answer your call for help, this would still be happening."

"Chancellor, please listen to them." Norina begged him.

It was a moment before he finally nodded, "Alert the settlement. Tell our people to gather only their most precious possessions and come here as quickly as possible. We'll begin evacuating immediately."

X

I stood outside, barely away from the large metal doors as I watched Elizabeth and Lycus take the first batch of evacuees to Atlantis. I was ushering the group forwards, John was further back, getting the next group ready.

All of a sudden, the ground started to shake beneath my feet, I stumbled, bracing against the doors as I watched the ground right by the Stargate crumbled as lava erupts from the ground as plumes of smoke and steam jettison into the air. The Taranians screamed as the remaining people turned and ran back towards the compound.

" _Mia get those people back inside!_ " Rodney screams in my ear as I stumble forwards, watching to make sure everyone was making it back safely. I spot a young woman collapsed on the ground, not that far away from where the magma was, I could see her crying in pain as my instincts kicked in. Not pausing to worry about myself I dashed through the Taranians, shoving some of them out of my way as I ran to the girl. As I got closer I could see that she was holding her leg and that the fabric around her calf was singed. The magma had obviously splashed her when it had erupted.

To my shock I watched as the Stargate suddenly fell into the magma, I stood openmouthed for a second as I watched our only hope of getting off this planet fade away before the girls cries brought me back down to the planet.

I hoisted her up, flinging one arm around my shoulder, "I know it hurts, but I need you to help me too, ok?"

She nodded, crying out painfully as she began to hop slightly. I didn't want to look over my shoulder, I could hear some of the stone crumbling away behind me and the bubbling of the magma.

"We're almost there." I told her through gritted teeth as we entered the compound, I slammed my hand down on the button to close the doors as the group of Taranians were hysterically crying in here. I set the girl down on the floor as I pulled a man to me, "Stay with her, keep her calm, I'll be back with a doctor." I told him as he nodded, the panic still on his face but he was able to comply as he crouched near her as I ran off to find Carson.

* * *

 **Hi guys, not much to say this week but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you next week.**

 **REPLIES**

 **LeopardFeather** \- Hahaha! I've been waiting for this day too! Thank you so much for your kind words, I hope you enjoyed!

 **parmakai66** \- I actually never thought of that...that would've been a good idea actually for them to do that haha and it does make sense xD Michael is a sneaky cheeky bugger and we definitely haven't seen the last of him and his creepy ways. Poor Mia. I like your take on the whole kids thing for them, we'll just have to see what happens when the conversation finally comes up!

 **Sheppardlover928** \- Thank you! Yeah I had no intention of splitting them up over something like that, they were both just being themselves...-_- thought I'll tell you the public thing will be happening soon!

 **Julka212** \- Michael is a dumbass and a typical fuckboi xD omg can a Wraith turned human even be a fuckboi? I really don't want to think about that *shudders at mental images* Writing that scene was such a relief. I felt like it was needed seeing as John obviously had a lot of pent up anger. I was so scared I wasnt going to be able to write him in character but I hope i did him justice...Thank you again for your support!

 **Guest 64** \- Aw yay I'm glad! Thank you! Yes that line is one of my favourite's too! I was so giddy when I wrote it hahah I honestly thought it was the most sweetest thing to come out of his mouth, and still respecting her strength, swoon.

 **Adela** \- Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed!


	67. Emergence - Chapter 67

**Hi guys! Enjoy what I have planned! *cheeky grin***

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

I skidded into the control room, panting heavily as I leaned against the doorframe. I was out of breath surprisingly as I spotted my whole team including Carson in here. They had been discussing the Stargate being swallowed up by the lava and that John wanted Rodney to fix the ship that was currently sitting in the hangar below us.

"Carson!" I yelled loudly, catching all of their attention as everyone turned to me. "I need you." I stated. From the look on my face Carson realized it was an emergency as he picked up his medical bag and hurried over to me.

"What happened?" He asked me as we jogged through the compound and back to the main doors where I had left the group of Taranians.

"A girl got splashed by some of the lava, she's in a lot of pain."

"I can imagine." Carson muttered grimly.

We reached the entrance as I brought Carson over to the girl, she was still crying and gripping onto the hand of a woman I assumed to be her mother. Most of the Taranians had made their way to the settlement through a set of tunnels nearby and only a few remained here with the girl. Carson got to work immediately, bringing out the necessary equipment out of his bag as he set to work.

After Carson treated the girl we headed to the settlement, he had mentioned that there were injured people there who needed his help. He had been about to head there when I had come cantering into the control room for him. So, with myself on one side of the girl and the man who stayed with her on the other side we all but carried her through the tunnels and to the settlement. We emerged into a sort of barn as I went and set the girl down on a stack of hay as Carson began to check over the Taranians. I noticed that a lot were huddled in here and some had gashes and cuts on them. The man that Carson was checking had a nasty head wound and looked like he was about to pass out.

I walked over to Carson, crouching down to him, "What can I do to help?" I asked him. Carson didn't even look over at me as he reached into his bag and tossed me half a dozen rolls of bandages.

"Patch up as many as you can." He ordered as I nodded to him, not that he saw it as he was too busy trying to stop the bleeding and wrap the mans head. I headed on over to a little girl who had a scratch on her arm as I proceeded to bandage it up, giving her a sincere smile as I did so.

 **X**

"Carson. Mia."

I turned at the sound of my name, seeing Teyla and Ronon coming through the tunnel entrance that we had also used before. I motioned Teyla over to me as Carson was still busy as the two met me half way.

"What's going on?" I asked her. I had been so out of the loop, I needed to be caught up on everything.

"Rodney is attempting the fix the engines of the ship. While he does that Colonel Caldwell is in orbit with the Daedalus to transport as many as he can back to Atlantis."

"That's going to be a few trips." I stated with a sigh. I tried to calculate how many would be needed with the amount of people in the settlement.

"Four trips." Teyla confirmed for me. "Caldwell is waiting for yours or Carson's confirmation to beam them up."

"Ok," I said to her, twisting around and looking at the heavily wounded. The girl with the burn would definitely be going first. "I'm going to start getting them into groups. Ronon," I said to the Satedan as he turned and looked down at me. "Can you go through the settlement, find anyone who's seriously injured and bring them back here for transport." He nodded and jogged out of the barn. I turned to Teyla. "Can you start spreading the word around this group? There's also a group in the house next door, let them know what's going on. I'm going to help Carson with this and then when Ronon get's back they can all go." Teyla gave me a curt nod as she too left the barn.

I walked to Carson so that I could inform him on what was going on, he had finished up with the man and was now examining a few others for wounds.

"Hey." I said, catching his attention.

"I heard something about the Daedalus?" Carson inquired.

"Yeah, Caldwell's going to transport them up to the ship and get them to Atlantis, I suggested the heavily wounded go first, can you start organizing them into groups?"

"Aye, I can do that. I think most of the injured have superficial cuts and bruises but the worst of them are these two here," Carson pointed to the man and woman.

I paused for a moment, thinking of something as I patted Carson on the shoulder, "Alright. I'm going to go help Teyla and Ronon around the settlement. I'll be back soon."

* * *

It had been around six hours since the first group had left aboard the Daedalus. I was sitting on the ground with a young mother and her two children, the baby in her arms wouldn't settle and I was trying to keep the little boys mind occupied with games and laughter while we waited. Teyla was going about the other groups, making sure that everyone was safe and comfortable. In the six hours we had only experienced a handful of small tremors, nothing like the ones we had before, I took it as a good sign. Ronon was standing by the barn door with Carson. I could tell that Ronon was growing impatient with waiting, he would pace every few minutes, stop, stare out the door and then start up again.

All of a sudden, the earth beneath my butt started to shake violently. The little boy by my side screamed in fear as I instinctively wrapped my arms around his shoulders and head. I could hear the straining of the structure all around me as I desperately hoped that it wasn't about to cave in on us. The tremor stopped after around ten seconds, the longest and most violent one yet.

"Is everyone alright?" Carson called out into the room once it had stopped shaking. There was a collection of replies as I slowly took my arms away from the boy; I kept one hand on his back in a comforting gesture.

I spot Teyla walking into the barn, checking in on us as she and Ronon talk quietly over in the corner. Carson went and started speaking to an elderly couple to the left of me as I turned my attention back to the little boy who was gripping onto my arm still.

Something outside caught my eye as I furrowed my brow. I stood quickly from the ground, and suddenly spots danced across my vision as I stumbled on my feet, "Whoa." I said, holding my head as I waited for the world to right itself. A hand clamped itself around my arm as I looked to my left and saw Carson with a concerned look. "I stood up too fast." I said to him.

"When was the last time you ate?" Carson asked me in his doctor voice.

The world was now sitting still and the spots were gone as I pulled my arm out of Carson's grip, "I'm fine. There are more things to worry about then my sustenance—besides…" I trailed off as I pointed outside. Carson followed my finger as he followed me over to the door as I watched small pieces of black ash rain down from the sky.

"Oh no." Carson groaned, looking up at the sky.

"What is it?" Teyla had appeared by our side.

Carson turned to answer her, "It's ash beginning to fall."

"More volcanic vents must have opened up from that last tremor," I explained to her as Teyla looked increasingly more worried.

"Is that a sign that the volcano will erupt soon?" She asked.

"Diastrophism is a wee bit outside my bailiwick." Carson saw Teyla's confused face. "I mean, no, I doubt it. Remember what Rodney said. When she goes, we'll know."

"It just means that going outside is going to be increasingly dangerous, with the ash in the air that means that sulphur dioxide, toxic to everything, is going to be in the atmosphere." I explained grimly trying to remember my eleventh grade geography classes.

"Who decided that?" Ronon's raised voice caught me by surprise as the three of us turned and headed over to him. Ronon seemed to be in a heated discussion with one of the villagers.

"We all did." The man replied in a fierce tone and a frown on his face.

"What is wrong?" Teyla asked.

Ronon half turned to her, gesturing to the man, with the look on Ronon's face he thought the man before him was insane, "This is Vonos. He's from another settlement."

"Hello." Carson greeted with his Scottish lilt.

"How long before the Daedalus returns?" Ronon asked gruffly.

"Still several hours." Teyla said, downtrodden. "And I'm afraid the second evacuation group has already been selected, but you and your people will leave in the third." Teyla spoke kindly, trying not to antagonize this man even more so then he already was.

"That wont be necessary." Vonos said sternly.

Ronon scoffed, "He thinks he can outrun this thing."

"What?" Teyla exclaimed as my own eyebrows shot up into my hairline.

Vonos didn't look fazed from Teyla's apparent surprise, "A days walk from here, there is a river—wide, calm. It should offer protection from any lava flow. Another two days after that, we're at the sea."

"Should being the key word here." I said with a pointed look at Vonos but was ignored.

"Listen to me," Carson started, desperation in his tone. "There's a cloud of ash spreading across the sky. If that doesn't choke you to death, you'll surely die in the explosion."

"The only chance of survival is to evacuate this planet." Teyla stated to him.

"And the only way out of here is on our ship." Ronon finished. Vonos seemed to consider this as he backed down, shuffling back to his people as they chatted quietly amongst themselves. I had a feeling that we hadn't heard the last of him; he seemed like the type of person who was as stubborn as a mule, kind of like me in that sense.

 **X**

I was standing with Teyla by the door; I looked out, seeing the ash fall steadily become heavier by the minute. I sniffed deeply, smelling the sulphur in the air as I cursed loudly. We couldn't stay here anymore. At the rate the ash was falling and the sulphur already reaching us we'd be dead from it before the Daedalus returned. The tremors had started up once more, none had been as powerful as the previous one but I knew that with every tremor, more ash and toxic fumes would be spewing into the atmosphere. I hit my radio, "Colonel?" I said into it.

There was a moment when I thought that maybe communications had gone down from the ash cloud, but I was relieved when I heard the crackle of my radio, " _What's wrong?"_ Came John's concerned reply.

"It's getting worse out here. We can't stay here anymore." I said. There was a pause for almost a minute.

" _Start bringing everyone to the Orion. Rodney hasn't got the engines working yet but I'm sure he's close."_ I heard a noise in the background, which sounded like Rodney yelling at John about something or other.

"Understood." I clicked off my radio as I turned to the others. They had heard what I had said to John from listening in on their own radios.

Carson was the one who decided to tell the villagers, he was the most sincere looking and kind one. I would've just started ordering everyone into the tunnels. "All right folks," Carson yelled loudly, gaining their attention. "I'm afraid there's been a change of plans. We need to bring everyone from the settlement back to the base. Once at the base, we'll board another ship called the Orion. Now, it's a lovely ship with lots of room—"

"Why?" The man from before, Vonos, said as he stood up, crossing his arms angrily over his chest. I wanted to roundhouse kick him in the throat.

Teyla stepped in, "As you can see the conditions outside are rapidly deteriorating. We may not have time to wait for our ship to return, so we would like everyone to proceed down the tunnel that leads back to the base. The Orion will safely evacuate everyone before the volcano—"

"Why did we not board that ship in the first place?" Vonos interrupted again. I resisted the urge to snap at him but I knew that wouldn't do anything to help the situation.

"The engines are not currently in working condition but our people are confident they'll have them fixed before the volcano erupts." Carson tried to reason with his hands outstretched.

Vonos didn't look convinced as he turned his back on us, "This is why we should not have waited. We cannot trust what they say. We must leave this place now."

"And go where?" Ronon questioned spitefully.

"To the river." Vonos replied coolly.

Carson scoffed, "Have you looked outside, big man?" His voice rising.

"The air will be clear beyond the river."

"No it won't! That cloud stretches for bloody miles!"

Ronon stepped closer to Vonos, his tone low and threatening, "You will die out there."

Vonos shrugged, "Maybe. But it's better to do battle with death than idly wait for it to take you. You are welcome to join us." Vonos offers to the other Taranians.

"No!" Teyla cries out. "At least in here we stand a chance of survival. Out there is suicide."

"You're going to watch your people die." I said to Vonos. "They will start to choke from the toxic gas in the air within a matter of minutes. You won't make it halfway to the river before you all die." I said, looking at him and his people that wanted to follow him out. Vonos stared at us for a moment, before averting his gaze and walking between us, around twelve of his people followed him willingly. I grit my teeth in annoyance. What a stupid moron. I didn't have time to dwell on the fact anymore; I had to pay attention to what was happening now. Teyla was ushering everyone to the tunnel as Carson took the lead and headed into the tunnels.

"Ronon and I will go and collect the other villagers from around the settlement." Teyla said to me as they both ran out of the building. We had to move quickly now, any time spent outside was dangerous, even being in the shabby barn didn't give much protection.

"Let's go everyone, keep calm everything's going to be alright!" I called out, seeing their panicked faces. I was staying at the tunnel entrance, waiting for the other villagers to come through so that I could direct them the right way.

* * *

" _Mia, we're sending the last group back. Ronon has found a family at the edge of the settlement and is retrieving them."_

"Understood." I said into my radio. I coughed. "Be careful, Teyla." I coughed again as I pulled my shirt up and over my nose and mouth. The Sulphur dioxide had only just reached inside the barn, I took shallow breaths as I waited for the final group to arrive. When they did most of them were coughing and looking faint, I felt that. My head was becoming increasingly dizzy and I desperately needed water.

"This way!" I called to them as the group of ten spotted me and hurried into the tunnel. Now that they were here I knew it would be stupid for me to wait for Teyla and Ronon, I felt horrible about leaving them out here by themselves but with the way I was feeling I knew I had been exposed to the toxic gas already. With a fleeting look at the barn door I turned and ran after the group, I knew that Teyla would've told me to go with the final group anyway.

I only got so far when another tremor rocked the tunnel, the villagers screamed in fright as I heard a crashing sound behind me. I pulled out my flashlight from my vest and shone it behind me, "Shit." I hissed. The tunnel had collapsed. Teyla and Ronon had no way to get back now. I hit my radio. "Teyla come in?"

I waited and received no reply.

"Shit." I said again. I shut my eyes for a second; I had to calm down. I was still feeling dizzy as another coughing fit overcame me. When I opened my eyes the Taranians were staring at me, looking to me for strength and guidance.

"Ok, everyone let's go." I said firmly. Putting on a façade as I took off at a jog, ignoring the protest my body had.

I ran for a while until we came to a T-junction that we had to turn right at, only the way was blocked by debris that had fallen from the ceiling. As I stopped running another wave of dizziness washed over me as I saw dark spots again. _What the hell was wrong with me?_ I thought. I held a hand to my head in an effort to relieve the feeling. I knew I hadn't eaten in around twelve hours now, that combined with dehydration and I guessed breathing in some of the sulphur dioxide was making me feel faint.

"Where do we go now?" A woman cried from behind me. I turned around, bracing myself against the wall as I tried to force myself to stand still.

"We—have to…" I trailed off, feeling nauseas as my vision went dark for a second. Oh god. Don't faint. Don't faint. "There's a longer…way…" I whispered, my body suddenly becoming weaker by the second as the flashlight slipped from my fingers and clattered to the ground. Don't faint. Now is not the time to be having a moment! "We can get to the hangar…that—" I couldn't form words as suddenly everything dissolved around me. My vision went dark as I could feel my body plummeting to the ground face first. My last thought before I lost consciousness was that I hoped my nose wouldn't break when I hit the floor.

* * *

John ran up to Carson who was at one of the doors of the ship, he was directing the group that had just arrived to the ship down a corridor. "How are we doing?" John asked the good doctor.

Carson glanced over his shoulder, "We're just about ready. Mia should be bringing the last group in."

John nodded, feeling thankful that Mia would be inside the tunnels and not outside breathing in the sulphur dioxide, "Teyla? Ronon?" John questioned him.

Carson suddenly looked surprised as he thought back on them, "They were helping the last family. God, I haven't seen them." Carson said to him.

John had an uneasy feeling in his gut as he hit his radio, "Teyla? Ronon?" John waited a moment for a response from them. "Teyla? Ronon? Mia, come in?" When he received no response from Mia also, it sent alarm bells ringing in his head. Something must have happened to them. With a look of dread on his face John faced Carson, "Don't leave without us." He muttered, taking off at a run into the tunnels.

"No, of course not." Carson stated as he continued directing the villagers down the corridor.

John sprinted through the complex, running as fast as he could. He approached a sealed door and waved his hand over the darkened panel, when nothing happened he reached out to pry the door open but jerked his hand back when it touched the metal. It was blistering hot to touch. John reached for his radio once more, "Teyla, Ronon, Mia, come in?" He waited for an answer, but he knew he wasn't going to get one. With a curse leaving his lips John turned on his heel and ran to another section that the Taranians might have tried to go through.

He was in luck when he could hear nervous chatting as he rounded the corner, spotting two men reaching for the door, "Stop!" he called. Scaring the villagers as they turned to his voice. "The door's probably hot, you don't want to touch—Mia." John saw her unconscious body being supported by two men. He ran over to her. "What happened?" He demanded, taking her from the men and pulling her into his arms. He looked over her body quickly, trying to see any wounds that may have caused her to pass out.

"She just fainted." A woman said, coming up to his left. "She wasn't walking straight and then she just fell. We caught her before she could hurt herself."

John cursed loudly in his head, what a time for Mia to pass out. She was lucky she had been with the group and not by herself. John deduced it must have been because of the fumes in the atmosphere, he didn't have time to dwell on what had made her pass out, he needed to get everyone onto the ship safely. He held his fingers to her neck; her pulse was slow but steady. He brushed his hand across her forehead, she was warm to the touch but not feverish which was a good sign.

"Let's go this way." John said as he adjusted his grip on Mia, making sure that he held her securely against his chest as he turned and led the group towards the entrance that he had come from. Before they could reach the door it slid shut, locking as John froze. "Ok, not that way." He juggled Mia's weight as he pressed his radio. "Rodney come in."

" _Go ahead._ " John had never been more relieved to hear Rodney's voice in his life.

"I've run into the last group of villagers. I'm trying to get them back to the ship. Tell Carson that I've got Mia but she's fainted and he'll need to be ready for her. The complex is sealing itself off all over the place and I could really use some help to get back." John explained.

" _Alright. I'll have Norina call up the base schematics to see if she can—"_ Rodney's voice stops just as the complex begins to shake again. The villagers whimper in worry as dust falls from the ceiling as John instinctively holds Mia's body tighter against him.

"Rodney. Rodney? Do you copy?" John speaks into his radio. When Rodney doesn't reply John knows that the communications must have been cut off from the last tremor. He was on his own now.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I found myself wincing against the harsh light. After they adjusted I recognized the infirmary on the Daedalus. I felt heaviness in my right arm as I glanced down and saw a saline drip in my arm. My throat felt raw and it felt like I was swallowing needles.

"You're awake." A familiar voice said from my left. I turned to the voice, finding John sitting in a chair by my bedside. He stifled a yawn, telling me that too had woken up, probably not from passing out like I had. I removed the oxygen mask that had been placed over my mouth and nose.

"We made it off the planet?" I asked. It was an obvious question, seeing as we were alive and on the Daedalus.

John nodded, "Rodney managed one of his stupid but brilliant plans to get us off in the Orion. It worked and the volcano erupted. Caldwell beamed us over here afterwards. Nice timing at the fainting by the way." John said with a smirk.

I felt my face heat up in an embarrassed blush as I looked down at my fingers splayed over the white bed linen, "Sorry." I muttered quietly.

"Carson said there was nothing seriously wrong with you. Probably just a mix of dehydration, hunger, stress and inhaling some of the sulphur dioxide. He doesn't think you inhaled enough to be dangerous though."

"At least we know I'm not dying." I said, chuckling, trying to lighten the mood.

John smirked at me; it was his cheeky smile, "Well, we'll see after Carson has his way with you. He told me that you refused to eat something when he noticed your symptoms earlier."

"Oh God." I groaned, that was true. I remembered feeling dizzy in the barn and Carson telling me to eat something but I had refused. He wasn't going to let me live this down now. "How long until we get home?" I asked him, changing the subject.

"Just under an hour. There's one more thing…" John trailed off. I could hear the nervousness in his tone. Whatever had John nervous had me nervous.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"The long range scanner picked up a single hive ship heading for Atlantis." I felt the heart rate monitor jump, John's hazel gaze flicked up to it for a second as he looked back down at me.

"Michael?" I asked.

"We don't know." He replied. John suddenly reached out and brushed a lock of my honey coloured hair behind my ear, his fingers ghosting over my cheek softly as he gave me a tight smile. "I'm going to go find Carson." He told me before turning on his heel and disappearing into another section of the infirmary. I relaxed against the pillow, but my body was still tense, worrying about the hive ship on the way. I desperately didn't want it to be Michael, who knows what the hell the bastard would do if he came back to Atlantis. Would he declare war? Try to kill us all with the one ship?

I was still thinking about Michael when Carson entered the room, and true to John's word, he started chastising me about not eating and getting enough sleep before a mission. I was thankful for the bitching session; it took my mind off of Michael, for a while at least.

 **X**

When we arrived back at Atlantis, Carson didn't let me leave his sight, he ordered me into the infirmary again. "Really?" I had whined to him as I was wheeled on the bed through the corridors of my home. This was utterly embarrassing, everyone was out and staring at me with the oxygen mask over my face. Not that it should surprise anyone here anymore; I was always seen in the infirmary, it was like my second bedroom here.

"You fainted, Mia." Carson reminded me as he walked by my side. "A healthy, young woman doesn't normally faint, I just want to run a few more blood test to make sure you don't have any hidden nasties in your blood."

"Then can I leave? I feel fine!" I argued to him. Carson didn't reply to me as I growled quietly and crossed my arms over my chest. It was true, Teyla had bought me some food from the Daedalus' kitchens and once I had scoffed that down I felt right as rain. I detested the fact that Carson was about to keep me in the infirmary longer then necessary. "Didn't you already take my blood on the ship?" I asked Carson as we reached the infirmary. The nurse wheeled me into the section and took down the railings as Carson checked over my obs.

"When you first arrived, yes. It's been six hours now and I need to check to make sure the Sulphur Dioxide has started to break down in your system and hasn't affected your lungs."

"Why aren't Teyla and Ronon here? They were exposed to much more then I was." I stated angrily. Crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at the doctor.

Carson sighed, growing annoyed and my persistent questions.

"They were already checked out by the doctor on board the Daedalus and were on oxygen for five hours. The same amount of time you have been. I've told them no active duty and their blood test results are being sent to me as we speak." Carson explained with a pointed look. "Now, can I do my job and make sure my star patient is going to be in good health before I release her?"

With a heavy sigh I nodded and held out my right arm for him. Carson was smirking at me defeated look as he took out the drip and began to draw blood.

* * *

I had dozed off once Carson left, but someone shaking my shoulder gently woke me up. I opened my eyes and rubbed the sleep away, seeing Carson in my vision. "What's up, doc?" I muttered sleepily, yawning.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

I stretched my arms above my head, "Starving." I said with a laugh as Carson cracked a smile. "You finish the blood tests?" I asked him, pushing my body into a sitting position on the bed.

"Aye, love." Carson agreed as he planted his butt on the side of my bed.

"And am I in the clear?" I asked hopefully. Clasping my hands together in front of my face and gave him a begging look.

Carson nodded, causing me to grin in delight, "Aye. I found no more traces of the Sulphur Dioxide in your blood. You're perfectly healthy again."

"Great!" I exclaimed, "So can I get out of here? I'm dying for some food and a shower and a long sleep." I said excitedly.

"Of course." Carson said with a kind smile. "There's no reason for me to keep you in here anymore."

I whooped, and then grimaced, "Ugh, sorry. It's not that I don't like hanging out with you or anything. I'm just tired of being in here all the time." I explained. Feeling guilty. Carson laughed.

"I understand." There was an awkward pause as I glanced around the room. I was waiting for Carson to fetch my clothes so that I could get changed and leave, but I felt rude about asking now.

"Mia…" Carson said my name slowly and hesitantly. It sounded like he was unsure of how to come across the subject or question he wanted to ask me.

"What is it?" I asked him.

Carson's eyes darted over my face, searching for something; he seemed to think his next words over. I suddenly became concerned; whatever had Carson speechless had me nervous.

"The blood test I took wasn't because of the Sulphur Dioxide. Your system has been clear of it for hours."

"Then what…" I trailed off, confused at the why Carson would lie to me in the first place.

Carson looked conflicted, "I first started noticing the symptoms a couple of weeks ago, and now with everything that happened on Taranis; I wanted to confirm my suspicions before I told you."

"Symptoms of what, Carson?" I demanded. Angry that Carson had kept something like this from me, he could have just told me.

"I should have told you, I'm sorry; but I wanted to make sure."

"What, Carson? Am I dying? Seriously what is it?" I asked him, leaning towards him.

"I found traces of the hormone hCG in your blood." Carson obviously saw the confused expression I wore. "When was the last time you had your period?"

I felt time stop altogether. My heart double jumped into my throat as my mind started reeling, "Carson what…why would you ask me that—unless you thought I was…" I stopped talking. Suddenly everything fell into place. The fainting. The dizziness. My appetite. My lack of sleep. My mood swings. Over the past few weeks I had been more hormonal over everything, I had been eating more and sleeping less. As I looked into Carson's kind blue eyes, I could see the truth in them.

It was true. Blood didn't lie.

"Mia…you're pregnant."

* * *

 **Boom.**

 **I'm expecting mixed feelings about this, but I'll let you know that this exact moment has been planned since before I even started writing this story. I had always planned to have Mia fall pregnant at the end of season 2, and I know that I've had a few reviews this season asking me about it! Do you know how hard it was for me to play it off, when it reality I was thrilled people were on board with it. Anyway, even though this is happening, do you think Mia will be ok about this? You'll see next week when the drama really shoots up.**

 **REPLIES**

 **BookKeeper88** \- I'm glad you're excited about Michael, he's one of my favorite characters even though he's a villain, he's a great villain! I don't plan on changing Teyla's storyline so it's a definite yes from me.

 **Adela** \- Thank you! Yes it was sweet between them both.

 **Guest 64** \- Aw thank you! As much as you guys love reading them bicker, I love to write it, and there is a few more scenes I have written in season 2 for them to bicker still!

 **Julka212** \- Rodney and Mia is honestly my favorite thing about writing this story, ok maybe that's a little lie but it is fun! Oh my god and happy belated birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day and I'll count this one as your birthday present just because of the little surprise at the end!

 **Thanks guys I'll see you next week!**


	68. Emergence - Chapter 68

**Hi guys! Wow I'm so blown away with your response for last chapter, I didn't think I'd get that much of a reaction out of you all! I'm happy that you're all excited as most of you said you'd been waiting for this for a long time, trust me, so have I! I just wanted to clarify a few things in case some of you were a little unsure about pregnancy facts. Mia is very early on in her pregnancy, the chapter tells you how long she is so I wont spoil it, with that her reveal is actually based on my cousins real life experience. She was around 4 weeks when she passed out from not eating for a whole day. We took her to the hospital and we found out at there. It is rare for symptoms to show up so early but it can happen, plus I'm banking on a little bit of artistic freedom here. Anyway, with the coming chapters...um please don't hate Mia and me too much, but I do love my drama you should all know that by now xD The main reveal will be happening soon but just bear with me for a little longer! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks  
**

* * *

"… _You're pregnant."_

Those words continued circling through my head, they wouldn't stop; it was like a never-ending cycle. I didn't want to believe it, but it was hard not to. After confirming that I was in fact around the three and a half week mark Carson had let me read over the blood test, showing me what he had seen on the test. It was still too early to do an ultrasound, and even then Carson said at this early time, they only way to see the baby would be—uh—going up there. That didn't sound pleasant. I know that sounded ridiculous seeing as the whole reason Carson and I had been having that conversation was because something had been _up there_ but still, I shuddered at the thought of it.

* * *

" _Are you ok?" Carson asked me, a few seconds after he had dropped the bomb on me. I looked up at him, meeting his gaze as I shook my head._

" _I…I don't know. Are you sure?" I asked him._

 _He gave me a comforting smile, placing a hand on my shoulder, "I ran the test twice."_

" _But you could still be wrong!" I exclaimed, I felt my wide eyes, pleading with Carson to tell me that it was a joke. He was playing a prank on me; he had to be._

" _It's very unlikely." Carson said. "Given your symptoms and the date of your due period. Not to mention your blood test. I'd say it's true. You are pregnant Mia."_

 _I groaned, "Please. Stop saying it."_

" _Saying what?" Carson inquired._

" _The 'P' word!" I shouted. "This is a dream. I'm still asleep, you're still running the blood test and I'm going to wake up and everything will be back to—Ow!" I screeched, flinching as my hand shot to my arm where I had felt a sting. Looking down I saw Carson pulling his hand away. "What was that for?" I grumbled angrily._

" _Assuring you that this isn't a dream."_

" _It has to be." I said sternly. "Because there is no way on this planet that I'm—" I couldn't even get the word out. It got stuck in the back of my throat as I sighed, feeling the tears spring up in my eyes as I tried to hold them back. Carson saw this and tried to reach for my hand but I pulled away, crossing my arms over my chest as I felt a traitorous tear roll down my cheek._

" _It's still too early to do an ultrasound." Carson explained to me, seeing that I wasn't going to talk anymore. "Once we're around the six to seven week mark I can perform one. Surprisingly the Ancients had their own type of technology for this stuff, it's a lot more accurate and stronger then the ultrasound equipment back home—that is…" Carson stopped talking all of a sudden, causing me to glance up at him; he was staring at me, unsure of how to continue. "…That is…if you want to keep the baby."_

 _That got a reaction out of me, the tears dried up in my eyes, "What? Yes. I could never…" I didn't even finish, knowing that Carson understood. I grew up Catholic, and I had been taught from an early age that all life was precious. Even if I didn't follow the religion anymore those principles were still drilled into me. Saying those words out loud, it all suddenly became real for me. Carson wasn't lying to me, and even if it was super early and couldn't be detected yet, I was pregnant…_

 _And John was the father. John._

 _How could I tell him? We had never spoken about anything like this before, the issue about marriage and having children wasn't our daily cup of tea to talk about. Did John even want kids? Did I? I had always thought, after Liam died, that I would never find someone to love again, and even then I knew Liam hadn't wanted kids. Both of us being in the military and stationed away, it wasn't an ideal situation; and neither was this apparently._

 _And then there were my other worries of course, like our jobs here, my main concern being John's. I couldn't jeopardize his career. I wiped at my eyes furiously, fighting the tears as they continued to fall as I felt Carson wrap his arms around my shoulders, bringing me in close to him as he held me as I cried._

" _Do you want me to get anyone? Teyla? The um…father?" Carson asked hesitantly. I felt my body freeze, and I knew Carson felt it. I pushed my self away from him, wiping my eyes again._

" _No, Carson no one can know about this." I said with a fierce look._

 _Carson looked gob smacked, "Mia—what…you can't hide this, especially from the father, who is it anyway?"_

" _I can't tell you." I said immediately. "And you said it yourself, we won't know for sure until I hit the seven week mark, I don't see the point in telling anyone, do you?"_

" _Yes, of course I do! I cannae allow you to go on missions, you got lucky today, who knows what could've happened to you or this baby had you inhaled anymore toxic gas!"_

 _I suddenly became angry, "Carson, we have a Wraith hive ship on the way to Atlantis, springing this on him now…there are much more important things to worry about then whether or not I'm actually…pregnant."_

" _I cannae keep this from them, you may not see the importance, but I do."_

" _As my doctor you are bound by patient confidentiality."_

" _Not when the patient is going to be making reckless decisions."_

" _What are you going to do then, shout it from the tallest tower or send a mass email?" I muttered sarcastically, crossing my arms and slipping off the bed. I turned to face him; I put on my best pleading face, with watering eyes to boot. "Carson, I am begging you…" I said to him. I saw his expression change drastically. "I just found out that I'm pregnant. I can't have the entire base knowing when I don't even know what this means for myself. I just need a week or two before I tell anyone else. I understand your worries and I promise I won't go on any missions, but please, please, keep this between us for a little while. I will tell John when I'm ready."_

" _John. John Sheppard? The Colonel?"_

" _Oh, fuck." I hadn't realized my slip up until Carson had just confirmed it._

 _Carson looked a little flustered, "Well, I cannae say that I'm surprised. I had always suspected that you and he—well actually my first guess was Ronon but—"_

" _Carson." I groaned. "Promise me, please."_

 _He was silent for a moment, and then he sighed, "Ok." He said in his cute Scottish lilt, "But I mean it, no missions, I won't make the off duty official seeing as people would ask questions—"_

" _I'll make something up, pretend to be sick or something. With the Hive ship on the way we aren't going anywhere, and I have it on good authority that I will be helping Rodney with the repairs to the Orion."_

 _Carson was silent for a moment, before he sighed and held his hand to his forehead, "…I cannae believe you're making me go along with this. I would never have done this back on Earth."_

" _It's_ _b_ _ecause I'm your favorite patient and you'd be out of a job without me?" I said with a hopeful smile. Carson gave me a deadpan look and I thought it best not to push my luck._

" _You have a week." He said. "One week, if you haven't told whoever needs to be told then I'll do it myself."_

" _Thank you. I really appreciate it." I told Carson. He finally collected my clothes for me as I hurriedly changed into them and left the infirmary._

* * *

It felt like Carson had only told me ten minutes ago about everything; instead I knew it had been hours. It was nearing midnight; I was in the mess hall, out on the balcony, sitting at a little two seat table, my feet were propped up on the chair next to me as a warm breeze blew around me. The lights were dim and I was the only one in the mess hall, inside or outside, it was peaceful. On the inside, my whole body was in distress. I didn't really know how long I had been sitting in this spot, chewing on my lip as I listened to the waves break against the city, but with every waking minute I could feel my resolve crumbling. The reality was starting to set in, even if it still didn't feel real. I was pregnant, and I didn't know how to feel about that. I wasn't happy about it, but it wasn't the worst thing that could've happened to me. I didn't know how to process this; I didn't know how to deal with it. I had never thought about kids, I never thought I would ever have them, and now I was being thrust into a situation I was certainly not prepared for. What the hell was I going to do? Atlantis was no place to raise a child, the upcoming Wraith threat just proved it. The answer was simple. I'd be sent back to Earth, no doubt about that. Once word got out that I was pregnant I'd be useless to the expedition, I was known for my combat expertise and could I go up against Wraith even after the baby was born?

And worse yet, when people find out that John is the father…there will be inquiries and probably dishonorable discharges. Even if John and I weren't in the same branch of military, on this base he was my commanding officer, and a relationship between people like us were strictly prohibited. How could I tell him, and ruin everything he's built for himself?

"You look deep in thought." A voice stated. I turned to them, seeing Teyla approaching me slowly, a gentle smile on her face. She leaned against another chair.

"I was…" I said quietly, staring down at the table. I heard Teyla move the chair over as she took a seat opposite from me. "You're up late."

"The meeting about the Wraith hive ship on the way just got done, I wanted to check up on you."

"I'm fine. Sorry I couldn't be there, I got hung up with Carson." I said, shrugged. _And you know, finding out that my life is ruined._

"We understood." Teyla said with a smile. I had to look away from her, her smile and her expression were about to make me cry, which in the end just confirmed it more to me that I was really pregnant. I never cried this much, stupid hormones. I think Teyla saw the way I angled my head, and even saw the tears glistening in my eyes.

And for some reason, I opened my mouth and started blabbering nonsense, "Do you ever wonder how your life will turn out? And then out of the blue it goes in a completely different direction?" I still didn't look at her.

She sighed, "A long time ago I did." She chuckled, I could hear the smile in the sound, "I knew I was always going to be the leader of my people from a young age. I knew that I would lead them, guide them, and help them. I would often stay up at night wondering if I would ever be as good as my father."

"And then you met us." I said, smirking slightly as I remembered our first meeting with Teyla.

"Yes." She said, chuckling again. "And my life did a—uh what does Rodney say? A flip?"

"One-eighty flip." I clarified. I finally looked over at her; she was staring at something out to sea, a grin on her face.

"I never imagined my life would become something like this. It was…beyond my comprehension, it still is sometimes."

"Do you regret it? Meeting us? We did turn your world upside down and caused your people to flee their home."

There was a moment of silence. "I think…if given the chance. I would make the same decision I made back then. My people are safe—as safe as they can be with the Wraith, they are healthy and I have friends I would gladly do anything for." I think Teyla was trying to make me feel better, not that I didn't believe her or anything, Teyla wasn't one to lie about this stuff, she really was a big sap at heart; but I kind of guessed she was going along with my questions to put my fear behind me, not that she knew what I was scared of, of course.

"When I was a kid." I started; she turned her face so that she was looking at me. "I had my whole life planned out for me. I always knew that I had to join the Marines, no questions asked…but I did ask questions, and in the end I changed my own path." I sighed. "And then I met Liam, and my life took another turn that I didn't count on." Teyla looked at me questioningly, I had never confided in her about my ex boyfriend that died. A part of me didn't like to bring it up and another part of me didn't want anyone knowing about what happened afterwards.

"Liam and I were engaged." I told Teyla and I watched the shock roll over her face. "I was with him for four years, and when he was stationed in Afghanistan he was killed with his team." Teyla gasped. "I never thought I'd be able to get over him. I spent the next year living in solitude." I didn't go into detail about the drugs, Teyla wouldn't understand and it was a part of my past I didn't want brought up again. "After that I came here and everything changed." I finished my story, as Teyla sat quietly, no doubt learning about all of this new information about me.

There was silence between us for a few minutes, both of us comfortable in listening to the waves, that was until I saw Teyla move from the chair out of the corner of my eye, "I should get going. It has been a very exhausting day." She said, stretching her arms above her head and smiling down at me. "Is there anything else bothering you, that you wish to talk about?" Teyla asked. I found myself thinking that I was so lucky to have a friend like her, she always thought about others.

"No, I was just being weird." I said with a chuckle. "I'm going to head to bed too, even though I slept for ages on the Daedalus I still feel exhausted." I said to her.

Teyla nodded, bowing her head slightly in the Athosian parting way, "Goodnight, Mia. Sleep well." She said as I raised my hand and waved.

"Night, Teyla." I watched her leave.

And then I continued to sit out on the balcony for another couple of hours.

* * *

It was late afternoon the next day when Rodney found me. I was hiding out in one of the old science labs that I always used to sit in back when I had started studying the Ancient and Wraith systems. I was exhausted. I hadn't gone to bed until three am and then my stupid body thought it'd be great to wake up at my normal time of five thirty. One part of me was saying it was the baby's fault, the other part was telling me it was stress and anxiety. I also hadn't seen John in this time, he had sent an email to me this morning that he had crashed right after the meeting and was going to be with Elizabeth all day talking about the defense of the city and plans if the Wraith really did come back full force. I had sent him a short and sweet email replying to that and had then changed and hidden in this lab. As much as I wanted to see John, I was nervous, scared even. I didn't know what his reaction was going to be to this…situation, and as I had said to Carson. Our main priority right now was making sure that we survived this hive ship coming for us, even if they were just checking up on us, everyone was tense and I couldn't put the burden of the Wraith and a baby on John just yet. Once we were done with the Wraith I would tell him, to hell with what Carson said about the week deadline. If it came down to it, I know I could persuade him to keep his mouth shut for a little longer if I had to.

"Here you are!" Rodney exclaimed as he came storming into the room. I was snacking on a sandwich I had quickly darted to the mess hall to get twenty minutes ago as I looked up at him, chewing slowly.

"Here I am."

"Do you honestly have any idea how long I have been looking for you?" Rodney growled at me impatiently. I shrugged, it's not like this was an impossible room to find. His lab was two rooms over. "Two hours!" He exclaimed.

"It must be something important then," I stated with a mouth full of tuna sandwich. "Is the city under attack?" I asked with a roll of the eyes as Rodney glared at me with a stare that could melt a glacier.

"Didn't you get my email?" He asked, snappily.

"I haven't looked at my laptop since this morning." I said, wiping my hands down on my pants as I flicked through the data of the Orion. If I was going to help Rodney with the repairs then I figured I should get a head start and start studying them.

"Of course you haven't," he said with a frustrated sigh. "Look, we're heading out to the Orion in, like, twenty minutes. You would have known that had you checked your emails."

"Why bother when I have a fantastic mailman?" I said with a cheeky grin. Rodney glared at me again.

"Get your stuff together, who knows when we'll be back." He muttered under his breath. His statement had me jumping out of my seat in shock.

"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked.

He made an exaggerated turn back to me, his hand slapping his thigh, "This is why you should check the emails…we are taking the Daedalus, to the Orion which is still currently in orbit around Taranis. Once there, the team that I have put together, which Elizabeth requested you be apart of, will stay aboard the ship until we can get the engines back online and then fly her here, which all could have been read about in the email."

"Rodney, forget about the email. How long are we talking?"

"I don't know."

"Well try." I snapped back.

"A week." He said, becoming fearful of my tone. "Maybe two. Depends on how quickly we can work, the engines were badly damaged."

A week or two…

Carson would have a heart attack if he found out I was leaving, but I figured, right now it was the best thing for me. I needed to clear my head and just work on something that could take my mind off of this place and everything that was going on. Getting my hands greasy was something I was well and truly on board for, no pun intended. I quickly started packing away my things, Rodney giving me a look of relief as he realized that I would be coming along on the trip.

"Daedalus is on the East pier landing. Head over there when you're ready."

"Don't leave without me!" I called happily. Rodney was halfway out the door when he waved his hand at me.

 **X**

I packed my bag in record time; the duffle was put together within five minutes of me getting back to my room. Spare sets of my uniform, pajamas and toiletries were thrown in as I zipped it up and shouldered it as I headed to the nearest transporter. I exited the transporter right outside the east pier, I could see a few other scientists milling around, waiting for the call from Caldwell that they could start boarding as a whistle caught my attention. I turned, and I smiled weakly when I saw John peered out from behind a corner. A nervous knot grew in my stomach as I quickly hurried over to him as we ducked further down the hall so that no one would see or hear us.

"Thought you were going to leave without saying goodbye." John said with a smirk.

The knot grew bigger as I suddenly felt nauseous, "Of course not." I replied. The thing was, with everything going on and my rushing around, I hadn't even thought to say goodbye to him. That just proves the kind of state that I'm in right now. "I thought you might be coming with us.

He shook his head, "I gotta stay here and help with the defense plans, you'll have fun on the ship though, it's your dream." He said with a cheeky grin. I managed to crack a real smile as I thought back to the time on Taranis when I had begged John to let me see the Orion. He had refused because I was supposed to be helping with Rodney with diagnostics, and the only time I had been on the ship I had been unconscious.

As I stared at John, I felt the weight of our situation heavily on my shoulders, I swallowed thickly, how easy would it be to just tell him? But then I'd be leaving for a week. No. I couldn't do it now, it would be wrong of me to say it and then go, I would tell him when I got back.

"You ok?" John asked, concerned.

I quickly plastered on a smile, "Yeah. Just worried still."

"The hive?"

"When is it ever anything else?" I said half jokingly. John didn't seem fully convinced but I pressed myself against him, wrapping my arms around his torso as I tucked myself under his chin snuggly. "I'll see you in a week." I said softly.

"Have fun with Rodney." John chuckled.

"Oh my God, is she not here yet?" I could hear a familiar grating voice from around the corner. "Seriously, how long does it take for one person to pack a bag, it's not like we're going on a vacation!" Rodney continued his ranting as I sighed heavily.

"He's right. It's definitely not going to be a vacation. I may be brought back in handcuffs from committing murder."

"We can put them to good use then." John said with a wink. I laughed loudly, but not loud enough for the people to hear me. Taking his face in my hands I kissed him.

"See you soon." I said as I pulled away. John bent his head and kissed me again.

"Try not to blow up the ship. It's new."

I had started to walk backwards, away from him, "Rodney's specialty. Not mine, remember?" I said with a smirk as John chuckled and watched me leave.

I neared the previous area again. "Honestly, can anyone reach her on the radio? I swear that woman has about as much time sense as a broken clock."

"I'm here, Rodney." I called out as I rounded the corner. "Sorry it took me so long I wanted to stretch my legs quickly."

"Whatever. We're going now." Rodney said as he started motioning to the scientists to start heading onto the ship. Talking with John had put me in a strangely good mood considering everything that was going on in my life as I hurried up to him and tossed my arm over his shoulder.

"So, a whole week on a ship, and you didn't bring a firearm to protect yourself."

Rodney sent me a worried look, "Why would I? The Daedalus is staying with us and I'm pretty sure the security teams will protect us if any Wraith miraculously show up."

"Oh," I said, slapping his shoulder lightly and giving him a forced smile. "I didn't mean to protect yourself from the Wraith. I meant from me."

Rodney paled comically as I pulled my arm away from his shoulder as I jogged ahead, laughing to myself as I caught up with a scientist that I actually knew. I glanced over my shoulder to see Rodney shaking his head at me, and grumbling under his breath.

* * *

"Radek!" I called happily as I spotted the Czech scientist sitting in the commissary on the Daedalus. We were only half an hour into our trip to Taranis and I had grown increasingly hungry. Radek jumped slightly, surprised at my outburst as he glanced up from the small tablet he had been reading from and pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"Oh—uh hello there Major." Radek greeted me as I flopped into the seat opposite him with my tray of food.

"You have no idea how thankful I am to see you here." I said in relief as I took a bite out of my cheese toasty.

Radek smirked, drinking from his mug, "I take it Rodney has been driving you insane?"

"It's only been half an hour and I already want to throw myself out of the airlock." I groaned to him. "He's going round telling all of the scientists that he singlehandedly saved everyone on Taranis from the volcano—well he did technically, but that's not the point. He's making it sound like the sun shines out of his ass."

"Typical Rodney." Radek agreed with me as I sighed and nodded.

"I'd like to see their reactions if I told them about how he asked me for advice on how to 'woo' the female species. That's a direct quote there." I said pointedly as Radek chuckled. "He also screamed like a little girl."

Radek, all of a sudden looked at something over my shoulder as I followed his gaze and saw Rodney entering the commissary. I groaned and faced back to him, "Talk to me about something, anything, please. Act like we're deep in conversation so that he won't come over and talk to us."

"Too late." Radek said ominously.

"Ah, here you are. I trust you're both exchanged data plans on the best way to fix the engines?" Rodney asked us in that stupid condescending tone he used knowing that right now I had to take my orders from him seeing as he is the chief scientist, and I was technically his engineer right now.

 _Actually, Rodney, I'm thinking about the quickest and most thorough way to launch this tray at your head, but by all means, continue on like the arrogant and petty jerk that you are,_ I thought to myself. "Of course." I said with a sickly sweet tone and smile.

"Good, good." He said, clasping his hands back together. He spotted the lone French fries on my plate as he picked a few off and chomped down on them before I could do anything. "With you two working on the engines I expect there to be no problems." He said with a grin as he wondered off.

"He better not go near any airlocks on this ship because so help me God I will launch him off this ship." I muttered in a dark tone.

"And it's only day one." Radek sighed hopelessly.

"I'm going to need a miracle to get through this week." I whined, dropping my head down on the table, and again, I felt the strong need to cry.

Stupid hormones.

* * *

 **Again please don't hate Mia and me too much. I have a special surprise for her reveal so bear with me!**

 **REPLIES**

 **thompsommaria9** \- make some bad choices is what! xD

 **LeopardFeather** \- I'm so excited for this baby!

 **Julka212** \- I knew writing that scene it would be obvious! Hahaha Teyla doesn't get pregnant until the fourth season I'm pretty sure! I don't really plan on changing that aspect of her story so their kids can be besties! xD

 **GoldenGod48** \- Yep I know what episode, I know what gender and I know what name so no need, but maybe I'll do one to see what you guys think it will be!

 **Adela** \- Thank you! I'm happy you're on board with this!

 **LoveStoryFanatic** \- Hahah I'm a sucker for a cliffhanger, sometimes it's so hard to do because everyone knows how all the episodes end so when I can actually do one I jump at the opportunity. Also I tried to personally reply to your second message but for some reason it wouldn't let me! Ugh, even though you found out in this one Carson didn't know but now he does.

 **Guest 64** \- Aw I;m so happy! It's finally happening I'm so happy that they're having a baby. Hopefully you don't hate me too much for what Mia is doing.

 **parmakai66** \- I'm happy you're being honest with me and I completely understand. I knew judging from your last review that you weren't on board with this, but even if you don't like the idea I'm happy to see that you're curious about how it's all going to play out. i do try and keep it as realistic as possible but I am going to need a bit of artistic freedom with some parts. I adore Carson, and especially in this one when he thought it was Ronon xD

 **Fan 24601** \- Yaya! I know right? It's going to be a huge mess coming up!


	69. Emergence - Chapter 69

**Sorry about the wait. I'll be updating on Friday still but due to time constraints I'm not replying to reviews this chapter but will next one. Thank you all for being understanding.**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"Nonononono, you've got it all wrong!"

"Rodney, I've been staring at this buffer for the past week." I sighed for what was probably the billionth time in the week I had been stuck aboard the Orion. "The engines energy source is strikingly similar to that of the Puddle Jumpers. By using the buffer that Zelenka and I created we should be able to harvest the power from the Jumper into the engine."

" _Or_." Rodney emphasized, "You could blow this entire ship up, us along with it as the power distributions are too different."

I shook my head at him, rising up from under the console as I finished hooking up my makeshift buffer, "Zelenka and I have been running the simulations for two days now. The differences in power is minute and shouldn't cause a problem for the Orion's engines."

"You said should. Not wont." Rodney exclaimed, pointing a finger at me.

I sighed again, throwing my arms in the air as I looked over at Zelenka who was sitting quietly at the desk, "Radek, talk to him. Tell him that this is the one way we've been able to come up with that can kick start the engines!"

Zelenka finally looked over at us, he had obviously been trying his best to stay out of a squabble, it was all Rodney and I had been doing this past week really. He cleared his throat, pushing his glasses up his nose, "Rodney, she's right. We've tried everything to repower the engines. The fact is, the ship wasn't damaged in the war; it was just made too quickly and wasn't properly constructed when the Ancients built it. Now, we've repaired and constructed parts that we believe should help, now all we need to do is kick start her."

Rodney still didn't look convinced.

"Look," I said to him. "The Ancients did a half assed job on this ship. They obviously needed something quickly and threw it together, maybe something to get them to this planet originally so that they could build the base. Or they built the ship to get off the base. Either way, we've tried everything, this is the only way."

A few moments passed in silence, Rodney was pouting as I glanced over at Zelenka, giving him a questioning look as he shrugged nonchalantly. Finally Rodney raised his head, "Ok, fine. Let me check over you calculations and then we'll try it. But if this ship blows up it's on you and not me."

"Whatever." I said flippantly. I checked the time on my watch, "I'm going to go meet Lorne in the bay. Once he's here and the Jumper's all hooked up we should be good to get the engines started."

Rodney waved me off, not taking his eyes off the screen in front of him as Zelenka actually had the decency to meet my gaze and give me an encouraging smile. I was used to it by now. I left the room we had dubbed 'Engineer's nightmare' and headed along the stark white corridors of the Orion. Even if it had only been a week, I knew each curve and stair on this ship, the cons of not being able to sleep properly at night. I didn't even have to check the map we had of the ship to figure out where I was going anymore. I passed a few of the scientists on the way to the docking bay, I greeted them politely as they waved and returned my gesture. They probably all felt sympathy for me seeing as Zelenka and I had been the ones to spend the most time with Rodney on the ship. But that was all about to change with the arrival of Lorne. I was grinning like it was Christmas, I was finally going to be able to talk to someone about things other then physics and science and boring stuff.

With Zelenka's and my plan to use the jumper's engine to start the Orion's engines, we technically needed a jumper to use. Which is where Lorne comes in. We sent a message to Atlantis two and a bit days ago asked for them to fly a jumper to us, seeing as the Daedalus couldn't leave us here defenseless and Rodney refused to leave the Orion for anything so poor Lorne had to fly the jumper here, which took him two days. I was just really excited to see a new face.

X

The cargo door of the jumper slowly lowered onto the floor of the Orion's docking bay. Lorne stood leaning casually against the wall of the jumper, a few other Marines' were with him, for safety and shift changes. I mean, Lorne couldn't have flown the ship by himself for two days straight, and it was too dangerous to stop on the way in case any Wraith ships passed by. His eyes glanced around the large bay, "Wow. The Colonel wasn't kidding when he said I'd be impressed."

I felt my heart give a jump at the mention of John, to be frank, I was grateful that the issue about the Wraith hive ship and the defense of the city had taken precedence over him coming here. If he had been the one to come here, I don't think I would've been able to keep the secret I had been holding onto. But then again I missed him a lot and the gnawing guilty feeling I had in my stomach, that wasn't morning sickness (which had started exactly three days ago), made me feel like a horrible human being.

"Yeah, well it can become suffocating once you've been here a while. Especially being surrounded by scientists that use words I need a dictionary for." I joked lightly as Lorne stood in front of me.

"I assume that McKay has been a real ball of sunshine this past week." Lorne said with a smirk. "The Colonel asked me to check that he really was still alive and that you weren't secretly sending in his reports to cover it up."

I chuckled, "He knows me too well."

I gave Lorne and the Marines the grand tour of the ship, they'd be staying on the ship while we finished the repairs, hopefully with the jumper finally here we'd actually get somewhere with the engines in the next day or so and we could finally go home. Even though it took Lorne two days to get here, with the hyperdrive working at full capacity now we'd be back at Atlantis within six hours of departure, and that excited me the most.

"So the sleeping quarters are still pretty dusty." I said, stopping in front of the four-bunked room. The rooms were pretty standard in this area; each room had four bunks, two on each side, they were like small cocoons with silk curtains to pull across the opening to create a sense of privacy. "And a little cramped." I added on as Lorne and the two others he had come with entered the room and gave it a once over.

"It's alright, it's a lot better then sleeping on those damn benches in the Jumper." Lorne grimaced as he settled in the lower bunk on the left hand side, his arms folded behind his head. I saw the other two do that same and I assumed they were going to catch up on some much needed sleep that they had probably missed out on from flying here.

"Ok. Well the Daedalus beams over the food in around four hours, I'll come get you then, but feel free to walk around and explore the ship. It's pretty big and easy to get lost but just radio me if you need anything," I said politely. Lorne already had his eyes shut as he held up his hand, giving me a thumb up. I smirked at him, backing up out of the room and heading back to the docking bay where my equipment was waiting for me. It was time to get this ship started and go home.

* * *

"Ok." I drawled into my radio. I pulled out of the jumper's side compartment and finished hooking it up to the ships internal systems. "The jumper is hooked up and ready for testing. Are you satisfied with our calculations, Rodney?" I asked lazily into the radio.

There was silence, until. " _Sure. Let's try this."_

Oh, now he was on board with it. I scoffed, typical Rodney. I started the jumper up manually from the tablet as it hummed to life. The drive pods lighting up in the familiar blue glow. "Ok, transferring power from the jumper to the ships main engine drive." I chucked in a few commands on the tablet. There was silence from both ends, all of us waiting to see if the ship actually did blow up. All we needed was a little bit of power from the jumper to go into the buffer system that Zelenka and I created and then it would draw in the power from the engines own system and hopefully jumpstart it, kind of like a car, which is where I got the idea from in the first place.

" _Mia! It's working! Turn off the jumper."_ Radek said into the radio as a grin formed on my face. I shut down the jumper, tossing the tablet onto the table nearby as I ran through the ship and back to the engine room where Rodney and Zelenka were.

I ran in, seeing them both hovering over a console and laptop. They both looked up when they saw me enter. "Did it work?" I asked, breathlessly.

"See for yourself." Radek said with a kind smile as suddenly I felt a deep rumbling under my feet. It sounded like an enormous machine coming to life as I sighed in relief; we had done it, I mean, really done it! And in a week too! I felt great satisfaction from hearing the engines coming to life.

"I can't believe it actually worked." Rodney said in awe, checking over the readings.

"You doubted me?" I asked with a cheeky smile as I walked round to them. "I built a tank out of scrap metal after my graduation from Mechanical Engineering to impress my commanding officer. Something like this is child's play for me."

X

Our group consisting of myself, Rodney, Zelenka and Lorne entered the bridge as a few more scientists milled around still doing repairs to other parts of the ship like weapons and shields. After the escape on Taranis Rodney had burnt out the shields so it was another mission to get them working again.

"Finally we can go home." I said in relief as I walked to the front of the room with Lorne and Rodney. We all stared out of the large rounded window. Taranis was below us, and the ash cloud was still present on the planet, it had now encased probably seventy percent of it by now.

"It'll be nice not to have to go through another two day journey like before," Lorne drawled, shuddering at the memory. I smirked at him as I saw Rodney looking over his shoulder at something. I turned, looking at the chair that he was drooling at. It was technically the 'captains' chair or whatever, but Rodney was looking at it like it was a golden throne. Knowing exactly what he wanted I grinned again, a devilish plan forming in my head. It was as if Rodney could sense my intentions, he glanced over at me, seeing the wicked glint in my eye as we both rushed towards the chair. I shoved him roughly with my hand as he shouted something at me loudly as I reached the chair first. Suddenly I was pushed as I stumbled out of the way, Rodney was trying to turn around and sit in the chair when I lunged for him and tried to pry him off it.

"I don't think so! I was the one who fixed the engines!" I said through gritted teeth as I tried to push him out of the way with my shoulder.

Rodney pushed back with more force than I thought he was capable of, "Oh come on! I saved us on Taranis and this ship. I deserve to sit there!" He yelled back. I could hear laughter around the room at our childish display as Rodney and I continued our game of push and shove, both yelling out reasons on why we should be sitting there.

"Stop being so tenacious and let me sit down!" Rodney yelled.

"You can't handle the responsibility of the chair, I can!" I shouted back at him. After I gave Rodney another particularly hard shove on the shoulder he seemed to loose his balance, and with me still leaning on him I went toppling over with him. We both let out yelps of surprise as we crashed to the floor. Rodney actually broke my fall, which I was grateful for as I landed across his stomach, barely catching myself before I smacked my head against the floor.

"You could have killed me!" Rodney exclaimed, his tone higher then before.

"Oh shut up, I did not." I snapped back, pushing myself away from him and brushing my pants down. I heard the creaking of leather as I snapped my head around to the chair; Rodney fell silent as he did the same.

My jaw dropped as I saw Lorne making himself comfortable in the chair, he sent us a flashy grin, "You know, I reckon I'm probably the most qualified to sit here. Thanks for pointing that out."

"That's bullshit!" I screamed.

"Are you kidding me?" Rodney echoed my outrage. Lorne continued to smile down at us.

I glared over at Rodney, crossing my arms over my chest, "This wouldn't have happened had you just let me sit there!"

"What you think this is my fault? You're the last person I would trust to be the captain of the ship."

"Can it Buck Rogers, this is still your fault. Now neither of us are going to sit there."

"Damn straight." Lorne said, and if possible, his grin widened.

* * *

"Coming out of hyperspace." Rodney called out as I swiveled round in the chair, I pushed myself out of it as I stood next to Lorne as we both gazed out of the window as we did indeed come out of hyperspace. The planet I called home was directly in front of us.

" _Welcome home, Orion."_ Elizabeth's voice drifted over the comms.

"Good to be back." Lorne said with a smile.

I scoffed and slapped him lightly on the chest, "You were gone two days, I've been gone a week." He chuckled at me.

" _I assume everything is still in one piece?"_ John's voice was like music to my ears. I grinned, giving Lorne a knowing look.

"Yes sir, that is if you don't count the nice fancy chair being broken."

" _Just as long as nothing explodes on us."_ John replied. Causing Rodney to laugh sarcastically.

" _The East pier is clear for landing, Major."_ Elizabeth said.

"Affirmative." Lorne and I both said at the same time. After a moment we both glanced at each other and burst out into laughter.

X

We landed on the east pier as I hurried to my bunk and collected all of my things from my room, everyone was very excited to get off the ship and go to their own quarters and see their friends after a week away. I was excited to see anyone other then Rodney for a change. I'd even gladly talk to Kavanagh—ok maybe not him, definitely not him. What even happened to him anyway? I thought on that as I shuffled through the halls. Most people had taken the transporters but I relished in the fact that I could walk through Atlantis again. The walk would also do me some good with thinking about everything I had to deal with now that I was back. You know, being pregnant and all. I had to suppress a shudder at the thought. Even after a week it still hadn't really sunk in. Like yeah I knew that I was pregnant but I still just couldn't believe it. In nine months there'd be a little me, and that scared me more then anything. I felt the dread first in my stomach, and then the fear started to creep back again. During the week I had managed to push the thought from my mind, not dwelling on it much or even at all I focused all my thoughts on energy on getting the Orion's engines fixed, and now that I was back, reality was starting to set in.

My hand drifted to my stomach as I placed it in the center, all I could feel was the cotton material of my black shirt and the firm muscle under it. Under my hand…inside me, there was a life, a tiny speck of life, already growing. Probably only the size of a pea, if that, I wasn't a doctor so I had no idea. I didn't have any cousins or young family members, so babies kind of freaked me out. Ok not kind of, they did freak me out. I had no idea what to expect or what to do.

"What are we going to do?" I muttered to myself, dropping my hand from my stomach.

"Do what?" A voice said from the left where another corridor intersected. I jumped in fright, not expecting someone to be here, let alone John as he strolled towards me. The first thing I thought was that I hoped he didn't see me holding my stomach, the second thing was that I had to tell a lie, quickly.

"Oh, uh…" I mumbled, giving him a weak smile. Think, think, think. "Just wondering about the Wraith hive ship still on it's way."

John reached me, wrapping his arms around my waist as I curled mine around his neck; he dipped me back slightly, pressing his lips against mine as I felt my heart flutter at the contact. On the one hand I was happy to be home and with him again, on the other, I still felt like a piece of shit for not telling him. How hard was it for me to just say two simple words? The answer. Very fucking hard. John pulled away; one of his hands tucked a strand of loose hair behind my ear.

"It'll be here any day now, but we're going to be prepared, we won't be caught off guard. Don't worry." He said reassuringly as I tried with all my might to take his words to heart. It was hard though, but I did believe that John would keep us safe, me especially.

As I stared at him, seeing the unwavering love he had for me, and the strong look he had about keeping me safe I suddenly wanted to tell him. It was eating me up. "John…I…" I started to talk but my words died off in my throat. How do I say this? Do I break it to him slowly? He looked at me questioningly as I focused my gaze on him, on his face. And that was when I saw it. I saw the nervousness in his eyes, the stress on his face. His crumpled clothes and the stubble on his chin and cheeks. He was worried about the Wraith. He was stressing over this. I could see how tired he was, how haggard he looked; he was completely worn out. My heart lurched painfully for him; he was already under so much stress, why should I add to it? No…it wasn't the right time. Telling him now would do more harm then good, he had enough things to worry about without me adding to the fire, if I told him, all of his focus would shift to me and not to the safety of this base and it's occupants. And hadn't we agreed long ago that the mission would always come first? This wasn't exactly a mission but it had the same principle.

"I just really missed you." I said quickly, I felt my lip quiver as I threw myself against him. Tightening my grip around his neck as I pressed my face into the crook of his neck, hoping that all my problems would melt away, but they didn't.

I heard John chuckle softly, the vibrations echoing through my own body, "I missed you too."

As we stood there, I refused to let any tears fall, but I thought to myself, _what have I done?_

* * *

John and I had parted ways once we reached my room, he told me that he was going to the mess hall to meet up with Ronon, Teyla and Lorne for dinner and that I should join them after I had showered and changed. I agreed as I did just that, relishing in being in my own room and under my own shower again, it was pure bliss.

I changed into my uniform, leaving the shirt un-tucked for a more casual look, if it could still be classed as a casual look, and brushed my still wet hair. I glanced in the mirror, seeing as I had no access to a hairdresser around here my hair had grown so long that it now reached mid back. I had never had my hair this long, but I kind of digged it, it was thick and the colour of rich honey, when it dried I knew it would have a slight wave to it, or it could go frizzy. Story of my life.

I left my room with a smile on my face as I headed towards the mess hall, intent on relaxing for the next few days until the Wraith got here and all hell broke loose, you know, the usual stuff around here. I was half way there when a shout had me stopping, "Mia!"

I turned to the voice, and my smile immediately dropped from my face, I suddenly thought about sprinting to the mess hall, anything to avoid this conversation. "Carson." I greeted the frowning doctor with a nod as he stopped in front of me, his hands on his hips.

"Just what the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Carson hissed at me, keeping his voice low but still conveying his anger.

I knew exactly what he was talking about but decided to play dumb, "I don't know what you're talking about." I said nonchalantly.

"You know exactly what I mean." Carson almost growled at me. It was a shock to me; I had never seen him this angry before, least of all directed at me. "I thought I specifically told you that you weren't allowed to leave this base."

"You didn't give me much of a choice, Carson," I hissed back at him. My anger finally getting the best of me, "You dropped a bombshell on me, how do you think I was supposed to handle it? I needed time away from here to sort everything out, I couldn't do it here knowing you'd be lurking around the corner!" I tried to keep my voice down. The corridor that we were in was very deserted, most people would be having dinner right now but this was a conversation I really didn't want to have in a public area, I had to be careful about what I said in case there were people around here.

"I'm trying to make sure that you stay safe."

His words touched me, they really did, but in this moment, all it did was make me madder. "I don't need your protection, Carson. I need a friend to help me with this! I can't have you breathing down my neck, telling me I need to tell every Tom, Dick and Harry."

"Not everyone, you need to tell Colonel Sheppard and Elizabeth at least. They need to know."

"No!" I almost yelled but still managed to keep my voice low. "No." I repeated again, "I am not telling them until this Wraith crisis is over with."

"You're being ridiculous, they have a right to know."

"Yes." I agreed, "They do, but it'll be my decision when to tell them. It's my choice, Carson, not yours." I said venomously.

"If you don't tell them, I will."

I was one thing to be threatened by an enemy, but to be threatened by your close friend who could potentially ruin your life, that was a whole other story. I got where Carson was coming from, he was looking out for everyone in this situation. I also knew that shit would hit the fan if John found out through Carson that I was pregnant, I could picture his reaction in my head clearly. And that was the tipping point for me; I stepped closer to him, "Carson." I said his name clearly. "If you tell anyone without my permission. I swear, you will loose me as a friend, forever."

That got his attention, I knew that he could probably ignore my warning and go ahead and do it anyway, but I liked to think that Carson's and my relationship was very precious to him, and he knew that I was dead serious. Would he consider loosing a friendship over this?

Carson narrowed his eyes at me slightly, no doubt wanting to continue the argument for a little while longer, he probably hoped that if he bugged me enough he would finally get through to me and I'd cave. But I was as stubborn as a mule. He let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing his forehead as he did something that shocked me. He turned and left.

Had he really taken my warning to heart? After he was gone I felt the guilt creep over me, what the hell had I just done? Carson was my friend, someone who was just looking out for me and I said those things to him. I truly was a horrible person. I suddenly didn't feel like showing my face in the mess hall, I wanted to sit and cry. I was alienating everyone around me, why could my life just be simple for once?

There was a bench nearby that I sat down on, drawing my knees up to my chest and resting my chin against them I let a few tears roll down my cheeks, not bothering to wipe them away this time. I had been cruel to Carson, and I was being a liar to John. Even though I hadn't actually lied to his face straight up, I wasn't telling him the truth like I should be.

X

As I sat there, staring at the floor, something moved into my vision. I saw a pair of boots, trousers, and as my gaze travelled up I saw tanned skin and kind brown eyes that were looking down at me in concern. And judging by the look on Teyla's face she knew exactly why I was sitting here by myself crying.

"How much did you hear?" I mumbled, wiping my cheeks.

"Enough." She replied softly.

I met her gaze as I let out a shaky sigh, "I guess there's no point in trying to hide it from you." I muttered. Teyla took a seat beside me on the bench.

"Am I right to assume that you…are with child?"

Wow, she didn't beat around the bush with that, I couldn't form words to acknowledge her sentence so instead I just nodded. It took me a while but I finally managed speech again, "Aren't you going to yell at me like Carson did? He thinks I'm a horrible person."

I saw her shake her head out the corner of my eye, "No. I do not think that. I think you are scared."

"Of course I'm scared!" I exclaimed.

"It's more then that," Teyla continued. Causing me to frown at her in confusion. "There is something you aren't telling Carson, or are afraid to admit it. You wouldn't be acting this way if it was only the one thing."

I felt my bottom lip quiver, how is it that Teyla can pick up on these things? I put it down to her being able to sense people's emotions a lot better because of her Wraith spidey senses. I wiped at my eyes again. "I don't…" I whispered, trying to get the words that I had been keeping to myself ever since I found out I was pregnant. I took a deep breath, tried to steady my racing heart as I looked over at Teyla, she was still giving me the kind and reassuring smile. "Teyla—I don't know how to be a mother." And there it was, the reason why I was petrified of this. Sure I had been worried about John's career, and mine, knowing that we were both probably going to get court martialed didn't help, but this was the reason why I was so scared of this baby. It was why I froze every time I tried to tell John. How could I admit to him that we were going to have a baby when I didn't have the slightest idea on how to raise one?

Teyla didn't say anything as the tears continued to fall down my face as I started rambling, "I'm scared. I'm so scared; I don't know what to do!" I sobbed as Teyla's hand suddenly found mine as she gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I can't—don't even remember my own mom, she died when I was a baby…and my dad was never around much. I'm terrified of having this baby because I don't have the slightest idea on what to do." I took another shuddering breath. "I'm twenty-seven, I'm not ready for this yet. Some women are prepared to have children from a young age but I'm stabbing in the dark here. What if I screw up? What if I do something wrong—I've never had the parental love that other children had, how can I give that to my own child when I've got no idea on what it feels like?"

Teyla looked like she was trying to choose her words carefully, "There are a lot of people who will help you with this, and I'm sure it will all come naturally."

"To you maybe. If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the mothering type."

"People change." Teyla said with a weak smile.

"And what about after?" I asked her. Her perplexed look told me that was not sure what I meant. "What if I get injured—or die?" My voice lowered, "People I care about die, Teyla. What if I'm next, and the child has to grow up without me just like I did?"

Teyla gave me a stern look, "You are you." She said. "Maybe this is why this is happening, life is giving you the chance to do what your parents couldn't. You know the mistakes they made, so you can learn from them and do everything in your power to love and care for this child. And believe me, this child will be loved and protected by not only you and John." It was weird to hear her call him by his name. "But from Ronon and I too. Carson and Rodney as well."

"He's never going to speak to me again." I muttered sourly.

"His heart is in the right place," said Teyla.

I sighed and nodded, "I know. I just—I want to tell John, I really do, but I know how stressed he is with the Wraith coming, I can see it on his face. I just want to make sure that we come out of this before I drop this on him."

Teyla was quiet for a moment, "I understand."

"But you don't condone it." I said with a pointed look.

Teyla reached out and wiped a tear away from under my eye that had been sitting there for a while; it was a kind gesture. "I'm your friend, and friends support each other. I will keep your secret and support you while you decide what to do."

"Thank you!" I cried happily, surprised at how heart lifting it was to hear those words come out of her mouth. I hugged her tightly, shocking her at my sudden change in mood as I heard her chuckle.

"You are welcome. Now, we should head to dinner before they come looking for us." Teyla instructed as I nodded and wiped off any stray tears.

"Do I look like a mess? Like I just bared my soul?" I asked her.

She shook her head at me, "You look lovely. Glowing even." She said with a grin.

I gave her a deadpan look, "I don't buy that whole glowing thing, and besides, it's like the size of a speck of dust. I'm hardly classed as pregnant."

Teyla took my arm in hers, laughing as she led me towards the mess hall. Well, Teyla did get one thing right. I'm not my parents, and even though my worries were still there, about dying young and not being there for my own child, I knew that if anything ever happened to me, they'd have a boatload of people ready to take up the challenge. And that made me feel a little better, not a lot, but a little.


	70. Emergence - Chapter 70

**Well guys this is it. It's the season finale this chapter. Honestly I can't believe how quickly I wrote this entire season and it's all because of you guys. This story has become huge. It's around 70 chapters and like 400,000 words. Never could I have imagined writing a story this long in my entire life but I'm doing it, and we aren't even half way yet. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it has a lot of drama, anger and sadness that took me forever to get right.**

 **Also, Mia has a bit of a potty mouth in this chapter. Just warning in case some are not into it.**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Emergence**

* * *

"Mia, get up."

I groaned, rolling over onto my stomach and burying my head under the pillow. I heard a chuckle nearby. I wanted to throw something at John for waking me up, it had been the first night I had actually slept through an entire night, even though it was probably still early I was just glad I didn't have any midnight wake up calls. I could hear John moving around the room as I brought my head up slowly, adjusting to the light in the room as I rubbed at my tired eyes.

"She moves," John said with a smile as he finished tying up his boot.

"What's going on?" I asked, completely disorientated. My voice was husky and dry.

John's expression changed, "The hive will be here in a couple of hours. I'm heading up to the Orion, Teyla wants you to help her with the evacuation of her people."

"Yeah, of course." I said, chucking the blanket off me. I made sure to take my time with standing up from the bed, but still looking normal-ish as I did it. I had come to find out that the quicker I stood up from things, the worse my nausea would be. I started to change into a clean uniform, brushing out my hair and hastily pulling it back into a ponytail.

John had finished getting ready as he walked over to me and gave me a quick kiss, "I'll see you later."

"Be careful," I told him with concern. He gave me a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach his eyes still as he turned and left my room. Once he was gone I dropped my arms from my head, I prayed that today would go smoothly.

* * *

"All of my people have been safely relocated to the city." Teyla told Elizabeth a few hours later, after we had just come back from the mainland with the last group of Athosian's. Teyla, Ronon and myself entered the control room as Elizabeth stood stoically, her gaze flicking over to a little red countdown every few seconds or so.

"Did everything go smoothly?"

"Yeah, they're pretty used to it by now. Have you picked up any of their contacts?" Ronon asked her.

Elizabeth turned her head down to Chuck, our resident technician, "Sergeant?"

"Negative, ma'am." Chuck replied, "Scans are still clear. It looks like it's just the one hive ship."

"Well that's good news at least." I muttered to them.

"And the cloak?"

"Up and running. All readings are in the green," Chuck replied to her. Elizabeth then started asking Colonel Caldwell and John about the status of the Daedalus and the Orion. Rodney had started up an argument about the drones and shields, which we hadn't been able to repair in time for this, but hey, at least the ship could fly.

"I have a contact." Chuck suddenly announced to us, making the room fall silent as we all waited on baited breath. "It's going into geosynchronous orbit. Hasn't armed any of its weapons."

"If they do, I want you to switch from cloak to shield as quickly as possible, don't wait for my order." Elizabeth told Chuck as the Canadian nodded at her. There was silence all around; our eyes were glued to the plasma screen, watching the little red speck hovering around our planet. I started to feel nauseas again, and it wasn't morning sickness.

" _You could be a little more chatty, Elizabeth."_ John said into the radio.

Elizabeth shook her head, realizing her mistake, "I'm sorry, we're just waiting for them to make the first move."

I felt movement by my side, I turned my head seeing Teyla move a little closer to me, her hand reaching out and touching my shoulder in a kind gesture. She probably saw how my skin changed from white to green, and I'm pretty sure my fists were balled so tightly that I was cutting circulation off in my own fingers.

"Transmitting a signal, audio only."

"They want to talk to us?" I asked, incredulously, my gaze shifting from Teyla to Elizabeth.

"Put it on speaker." Elizabeth ordered stiffly.

" _We know you are there. We mean you no harm. Please respond."_

"That's the first time I've ever heard a Wraith say please," I muttered in disgust, crossing my arms.

"John are you hearing this?" Elizabeth said into her radio.

" _We mean you no harm. There is no point in hiding, Doctor Weir. We know you are there. We mean you no harm. Please respond."_

And with that, all of my suspicions were confirmed. I felt the icy cold grip of fear start to creep around my chest, constricting my breathing. My hearing droned out, like I was underwater, the voices around me were all muffled as I started having flashbacks to Michael cornering me and attacking me. A sharp squeeze on my arm had me turning to Teyla, and suddenly sound returned to normal and my fear dissolved as I stared into her caring brown eyes.

"It's ok," she said quietly. I managed to breathe out a long shuddering breath as I looked beyond her shoulder, at Ronon who was staring at the two of us with a concerned expression. Ronon didn't know the full details of what happened between Michael and I. He probably already wanted to shoot the Wraith hybrid from kidnapping Teyla, if Ronon found out that he had attacked me...well let's just say I wouldn't have to worry about Michael anymore.

 **X**

Teyla instructed me to go and get some water and walk around for a few minutes while the others discussed what to do. We were going to open up a channel to talk to Michael and demand to know what he wanted. Even though every nerve in my body was telling me to run away, I knew I had to be there. I was good at facing my fears; I never backed down from a fight, why should I start now? I returned with a bottle of water in hand just as Zelenka had finished setting up the communications.

"Rodney and I have set up the subspace relay to go through the Daedalus and I've been able to configure our systems to handle both the radio and video frequencies, so…we should be able to see and hear them live."

"I would've been happy never seeing or hearing from Michael again," I grumbled loudly. It was small, but I swear I saw Elizabeth nod her head in agreement. Well, at least I wasn't the only one severely creeped out by him.

"They wanna know what's taking so long," Chuck drawled to us.

Elizabeth pressed her lips into a firm line, clasping her hands together as she finally nodded to Chuck, "Open the channel."

I quickly took a large step back, out of the view of the plasma. I didn't want Michael to see that I was here, even though I knew he would assume I was. The screen flickered to life, and in the middle stood a Wraith. For a second I thought it was a normal Wraith, until I realized that this one had short hair and had a fair few humanoid features, and then the shock settled in. Michael really did look half human and half Wraith, he still looked fucking disgusting. I glanced over at Teyla and Ronon, from the look on their faces he had changed from when they had last saw him. John had said that when he kidnapped Teyla his appearance had starting to morph back into a Wraith, I'm guessing that he was even more different from when they had seen him.

"Hello, Michael," Elizabeth said with a tone of unpleasantness.

* * *

Hours turned into days, and then days turned into a week, as of right now the Wraith had been coming and going from the city for a week and five days. Carson and Rodney were almost finished with the weaponised retrovirus. Me? I had been given the mother load of Wraith technology data, Rodney had managed to coerce the Wraith queen into giving us everything they have on their technology and ships, and when he had told me about it, I assumed my face lit up like a kid at the candy store.

I had been busy working with Zelenka in one of the labs with a bunch on other scientists, trying to come up with efficient ways to beam a canister onboard the ships, and we weren't having much luck. On the thirteenth day I was up early in the science lab, the other scientists hadn't come in yet so I had the whole room to myself with a cup of hot chocolate.

That was until John came in with a distraught look on his face, "He wants to talk to you."

I frowned in confusion, bringing the mug up to my lips, "Who?" I asked as I drank again.

"Michael."

John's words shocked me, my fingers locked up as the mug slipped from them. I made no move to grab it, to stop it from falling through the air as it smashed on the floor, china pieces scattering all around as the remnants of my drink pooled under my stool. "Shit," I hissed, staring down at the broken mug. This was the least of my problems right now. I met John's stony hazel gaze. "Why? What does he want?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he said. "He wouldn't tell me, only that he wanted to see you."

I turned back to the table, holding my head in my hands as I tried not to let the anxiety and fear through. I heard John approach me, his boots crunched on the broken porcelain but he obviously didn't care. His arm curled around my waist in a gentle gesture.

"You don't have to go," he told me.

I shook my head, "Yes I do."

"You have a choice, Mia. Michael doesn't control you, if you don't want to see him, or talk to him then you don't have to."

"Don't you see?" I suddenly exclaimed, turning on the stool to face John, "I don't have a choice! He's doing this because I haven't gone to see him; he knows that I cant back down from this. I have to go and talk to him."

"You always have a choice."

"Not this time," I said, shaking my head again. "Think about it, if I don't go and see him, he could jeopardize everything that we're doing right now. He's the one that brought the Wraith here; he's the one that told them about the retrovirus. Michael doesn't do anything without reason, John; and what if me not going to talk to him, he tells the queen to back off and we loose everything everyone has been working so hard for?"

John scoffed lightly, trying to lighten my mood but it wasn't working very well. "I don't think it'll come to that."

"Are you willing to take that chance?" I questioned him with a stern look.

It took him a few moments to reply, but John sighed heavily, running a hand through his messy hair as he bent his head and pressed his lips against my temple. His arm held me tighter as I sighed into his embrace, relishing in this close contact between us.

"Let's get this over with then." I muttered bitterly as John pulled away. I held onto his hand as he guided me around the mess that I had accidently made on the floor. "I'll come clean it up later." I told him with a shrug, knowing full well that I certainly wouldn't be coming back after my talk with Michael.

 **X**

John told me that Michael was waiting in the observation room, the room where he had first woken up as a human when we had used the retrovirus on him; it was also the room where we met. I didn't think that Michael was a sentimental type, maybe he just thought it would make me the most uncomfortable to meet in a small room like that and not a large open space with dozens of exists for me to quickly escape. Teyla had told me that the first day Michael had been here he had asked to meet her too, she hadn't gone into the gory details of what their conversation entailed, it was probably mostly about Michael kidnapping her, but still I thought it was strange that he had given me nearly two weeks without demanding I come see him sooner.

John and I walked close together, our shoulders brushing and every so often our fingertips would meet. It felt good to have him by my side, and with us both marching together towards the observation room; we probably looked badass too. It brought a smirk to my face, thinking about what we would look like to other people around us. The ever charming and dashing Lieutenant Colonel and the fierce Major, we made a strange pair sometimes.

We arrived outside of the observation room, the door was open and three Marines stood by with their weapons out. That had been a requirement for the Wraith to come down here, they had to be under constant guard, Michael was probably used to it anyway. I turned to John, "Stay here. Let me talk to him alone."

John looked absolutely appalled at my request; "You aren't talking to him alone in there."

I reached for his hand, my body blocked most of the view from the Marines behind us but I was pretty sure they knew what I was doing, "If Michael wasn't going to tell you why he want's me for a talk, I doubt he's going to talk with you in the room." I used my most gentle tone, knowing that John hated this idea.

He still didn't look convinced, in fact, he was looking at me like I was insane. I probably was to be honest. "He scares you."

I bit my bottom lip, "Yeah. He does." I admitted. That just made John grit his teeth, I saw his jaw locking in anger. "But I don't want him to know that." I said, jerking my head back towards the room where I could hear Michael walking around in. "By me not going in there alone, it just proves to him that I am scared, that I can't face him when I can, and I want you to believe in me."

"I do believe in you," John said, his voice lowered.

"He won't try to hurt me. He wouldn't dare. One, because he knows I can put him on his ass in three seconds flat, and two, if he tries anything, he knows that this stupid 'alliance' that we have with them will be over and their ship will be blown out of the sky. As much as I hate to say it, he probably only wants to gloat or remind me about what happened."

"You aren't selling this for me, you know." John said with a deadpan look as I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'll be fine. Trust me."

"I do trust you," John jerked his head towards the room. "It's him I don't."

I smiled again, and I saw the way his expression changed, he was happy I was smiling. It had been tense around here, and with everything going on, it was rare for me to smile now.

I gave his hand another squeeze, "Just wait here. I won't be long." He reluctantly nodded as I turned on my heel and started to walk towards the room. Our hands were still connected, and with each step we grew further apart until our fingertips passed over each other and I was walking into my own personal Hell.

 **X**

His back was to me when I walked in. He was on the other side of the bed, and I was happy about that as it put a hard object between us that I could probably use in my defense if needed.

"Hello Michael." I said, keeping my tone bored and neutral.

He turned quickly, and I had to hold in my gasp at seeing him in person. I had seen him on the plasma over a week ago, but really, he looked worse in person. He did indeed resemble a Wraith again, but some of his human features remained which was severely creeping me out.

"Hello Mia. I'm surprised that you came, I didn't expect you to." His voice sounded somewhat human, but I could hear the Wraith undertone in it that they all possessed.

I crossed my arms and glowered at him, I wasn't here to chitchat with him, I wanted to know what the hell he wanted, "Well you know what they say. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." He looked at me in confusion as I smirked at him, "It's a saying that humans use on Earth, but well, you wouldn't understand seeing as you're not _human_."

I saw his eyes narrow slightly, ouch, so I had hit a nerve, "I expected you to come with your lapdog."

"He's right outside," I growled at him, "But I don't need him for my protection, unless of course you manage to piss me off more so then I already am. Then he'll be coming in here to save your ass from me."

Michael laughed, it sounded demonic coming from his mouth with the way his Wraith voice distorted it, "That same anger and fire in you. I will say that I missed it."

"Cut the shit, Michael. What the hell do you want from me?" I demanded off him. Stomping forwards until I slammed my hands down on the bed. I felt a little nervous about being closer to him, but I was satisfied that I could take him. Michael folded his hands behind his back, "I was just curious on how you've been doing. We didn't exactly part under good terms, and you owe it to me."

"I don't owe you jack shit," I spat.

"You made me like this!" Michael roared. His yell had obviously caught the attention of John and the Marines as they came storming into the room, guns pointed at Michael; I whirled around, holding one hand to them. I met John's gaze, his glock was aimed directly at Michael's head.

"It's fine." I told them all, "He's just having a tantrum, nothing I can't handle."

The Marines waited for John's approval. John himself continued to stare at me, once he saw that I was telling the truth he reluctantly lowered his weapon and nodded for the Marines to leave. John sent a glare in Michael's direction, silently telling him to not try anything else as he backed out of the room, no doubt standing right at the door incase Michael did decide to forgo the alliance and have me as a snack.

I spun back around to Michael, my eyes blazing as I leaned on the bed, "For your information, I wanted nothing to do with your whole experiment. I was against it from the very beginning. It was only when I saw you for the first time that I actually felt compassion and pity for you."

I saw something like remorse flicker in his yellowed eyes, it happened too fast for me to be sure, but maybe he was realizing that I was telling the truth. He had probably been cursing and wishing death upon me the most, but now he knew the truth, "So…you were my friend because you pitied me?"

"I was never your friend." I retorted. His gaze hardened. "You were a job for me to do, and once I completed it, I didn't need to be around you anymore. You disgust me."

I guess that was the icing on the cake for him. I knew I could be a bitch, but this was pushing it. I suddenly realized that if I pushed him too hard, he could end this alliance, but I didn't care. Michael needed to be put in his place, and I was going to do it. I leaned in closer to him; our faces were mere inches apart as he himself was leaning on the bed too. "I don't know what your true intentions are with this retrovirus, but believe me when I say this Michael; if you or your Wraith buddies even think about double-crossing us, or if you hurt anyone on this base. I will personally see to it that I be the one to put a bullet right through your skull and blow your fucking ship out of the sky. Do I make myself clear?"

I watched as Michael's eyes widened a fraction, and it wasn't out of fear of my threat, no, it was the look of surprise on his face. It was gone instantly, and I wouldn't have noticed it at all had I not been concentrating so hard on his reaction. A devilish smirk spread across his face as I pulled away quickly, I didn't like that look. It was the look of someone who was about to get their way, it was a look I knew all too well.

Michael leered at me, his hands still behind his back, "Crystal." He said the word slowly and surely, dragging it out for a few seconds.

I hardened my own gaze, knitting my brows together, "Then we're done here." I said with an air of finality. I spun on my heel, walking to the door.

"I suppose congratulations are in order."

I froze. I turned my body halfway back, "What?"

Michael smirked again and I felt a cold chill wash over me, "My apologises if you didn't already know, but a Wraith can always tell, it's a…gift we possess." Michael continued to study my face for any reaction as only one thought was in my mind.

 _He knows. Michael fucking knows. How the hell does he know?_

He started to creep around the bed, coming to the other side as he approached me. I was glued to the spot, unable to breathe and unable to speak, "Or maybe—you do already know, but haven't told anyone."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I had wanted my voice to sound stronger, but it came out a little airy.

Michael scoffed; he stopped a good three inches away from me, which was way to close for my liking. I could see every little detail about him. "Of course you don't."

I had enough. I mustered up all my courage, even with Michael this close to me as I balled up my fists by my side. I wasn't going to strike him, no, I would never make the first move; I'm not an idiot. Instead I gave him the deadliest glare I could manage.

"Go to fucking hell." I poured all my rage and anger into that one sentence. If it had been anyone else, they probably would've pissed their pants at the sheer hatred dripping off the words.

Instead, Michael grinned at me, his smile causing my stomach to roll sickeningly as he leaned in. I stood rooted to the spot as Michael moved his head so that his mouth was right beside my ear, "I'm already there," he whispered to me. Every fiber of my being wanted to hit him, how satisfying it would feel to break his nose or just hurt him in anyway. I backed away from him, turning on my heel and marching out of the room. Needing to put as much space between Michael and me as I humanly could.

I was out of the room in a second, I wasn't exactly running, but I wasn't slow walking either, I needed to get away from Michael. All in all, the same thought kept going through my head, _Michael knows._

I passed John, who had been leaning near the door; he was suddenly surprised to see me coming out of the room like it had been set on fire. It was like he didn't fully process that it was me for a second before I could hear him chasing after me.

"Hey, Mia wait. What happened?" John had reached me, grabbing me by the arm to stop me from walking. "What did he say?"

I spun around, facing him, "I told him to go to Hell." I saw the amused look on John's face but it dropped after a few seconds as I pulled my arm out of his grip. "I just need to be alone for a while. I'll come find you later." I said to him.

And John, he let me go without a word. From the expression I had seen on his face, he had wanted to ask me what was wrong, but knew that I probably wouldn't give him any answers just yet. He knew that I needed space, and he would give it to me, because he was exactly like me and knew that if he tried to press me, we'd get into an argument. And a small voice in the back of my head knew that Michael had probably wanted that all along.

* * *

I was running. I was out of breath, having stopped my morning exercise routine because I hadn't been sleeping well and the stress of the pregnancy. As soon as I had been out of John's line of sight I took off at a sprint. I needed to put as much space between _that_ room and me. I could feel my resolve crumbling with every second, every time my foot hit the floor my stomach dropped lower and lower. Michael knew about me, I don't know how in the world he could know, but there was no mistaking it. He hadn't been talking about anything else, I was sure of it, he had indirectly confirmed that he knew about my baby.

I stopped outside Teyla's room, my fist already banging on the door and the other one going to the sensor and waving over it, I was getting into this room one way or another. It was still early and Teyla would either be just getting up or nearly ready.

"Teyla! Teyla! Teyla!" I screamed loudly. I didn't care if I woke anyone up, I needed my friend to open her door right now!

To my utter relief the door opened. Teyla was alert, hers eyes were wide as she stared at me in shock and worry, "Mia? What is it? Are you alright?"

I didn't wait for her to invite me in. I hurried into the room, my heart racing frantically as I started pacing around the room, "Teyla he knows. I don't know how, but he does and I…I don't know what to do I can't think, I'm terrified—"

"John found out?"

"No!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms wide and gripping the end of my ponytail, "Michael knows!"

"Michael knows?" Teyla repeated after me, overwhelmed.

"Yes! He said he could sense it, is that even possible?"

Teyla made the smart decision and guided me to her bed where she sat me down, holding onto my arm gently as she probably tried to think soothing thoughts at me. It wasn't working.

"You need to calm down. This can't be healthy for you to be so…agitated."

That was putting it nicely. She probably wanted to say that I was acting insane. I leaned forwards and held my face in my hands, out of everything that had to happen to me, this took the cake. I could handle being pregnant, but what I could not handle was a man/Wraith who probably wanted me dead knowing about said pregnancy. "Teyla, how could he sense it?" I asked her quietly.

She was quiet for a moment; I was hoping she was thinking hard about it, "Well. We know that I have a very sensitive and good understanding about other people's feelings and emotions. Maybe Wraith can use that even more so, they can sense the life we hold in our bodies, I would assume they would be able to sense a child within too."

"This can't be happening…" I groaned, feeling the tears building up. "Teyla he can't know. Michael can hold this over my head, he knows that I haven't told John, he could say something to him and I swear to God if John finds out about this baby from that sonofabitch…I don't care about this damn alliance I'll kill Michael myself."

"Then…" Teyla said softly and hesitantly. "Maybe it is time you told him, before anything bad happens."

I stared at the floor, then wiped my eyes from the tears that had fallen, I had turned into such a crybaby the past few weeks, it was annoying but apparently it was my new way of letting out stress that I kept held inside. "You're right. It's time." I agreed as Teyla let out a sigh of relief. She was probably worried I'd bite her head off because she had suggested the idea to me (referring to Carson, who I still hadn't spoken to yet). I met her kind brown gaze, "But in a little while. I just need to calm down before I drop this on him. If I'm acting stressed and crazy he'll be stressed and crazy and I'll never get the words out…can I stay here for a little while? I don't want anyone to find me just yet, especially not John, not just yet."

Teyla smiled, "Of course, take all the time you need. I am meeting some of my people, but would you like me to stay?"

"No, it's ok." I told her quickly. I wasn't going to let my mental breakdown affect her precious bonding time with her fellow Athosian's. "You go. I stay." I chuckled at my stupid Neanderthal impression as Teyla laughed. She gave me a gentle pat on the arm and left me in peace in her tranquil and sweet smelling room.

* * *

As it turns out 'a little while' ended up with me falling asleep for six hours. I woke up in the most uncomfortable position, half lying on and half off Teyla's bed. My head was pounding and I was starving, only having that hot chocolate from this morning that I didn't even get to finish as I had dropped it all over the floor. I rubbed my face, checking my watch and seeing it just after midday. I thought maybe Teyla would've come back and woken me up but she was probably still busy with her people. Rubbing my face once more I stood up from her bed. Well, I had been hiding here long enough. It was time to face the music.

I searched all over for John, I went to all of our regular places and I even checked the jumper bay just to be sure, but it was like he had disappeared from the base altogether. With a furrowed brow, wondering if maybe he had gone off world for some reason, I headed down the stairs and into the control room where Chuck was monitoring something on the computer.

"Hey," I said, catching his attention, "Have you seen Colonel Sheppard anywhere?" I asked him.

Chuck looked at me like I had two heads, "He left on the Daedalus a few hours ago, didn't you know?"

"Oh," I said, stunned really. "Uh no, I've been asleep. What are they doing?"

Even though I hadn't been living under a rock with the Wraith being here, I hadn't really partaken in any of the engineering aspects of trying to get one of those pesky little canisters onboard a ship. I left all the hard stuff to Rodney and Zelenka while I had been pouring over the Wraith data that they had given us to research.

"They're going to try and detonate a canister in a Wraith hive ship."

"That's cool, I guess." I shrugged nonchalantly. Chuck chuckled. Oh boy, that was something I didn't want to think again.

I suddenly heard panting behind me, I turned, seeing Zelenka come sprinting into the control room, "Where is Colonel Sheppard? Has the Daedalus left yet?" He asked, breathlessly.

"Get in line," I said jokingly, giving Chuck a knowing look.

Zelenka started to frantically shake his head, which suddenly had me concerned as I noticed the look on his face, "No no no no, you don't understand, this is very bad. The Wraith double-crossed us."

"What?" I screeched loudly. Zelenka had me follow him as we walked into Elizabeth's office. She was sitting in her chair; Teyla was with her already. Zelenka delved into what he had found as I stood back, fury brewing in my stomach. I felt like an idiot, I had threatened Michael about double-crossing us, and he had done the exact thing I had warned him not to. Now he was going to pay.

"We got hacked," Zelenka explained. "Within the hive ships schematic was a worm-like computer virus."

"Your people went over the data." Elizabeth stated.

"I know. We thought it was clean, but this virus was entirely different."

"Another hybrid," I grumbled, crossing my arms angrily. Demonic waves were probably flowing off me right now.

"What did it do?" Elizabeth asked him, ignoring my sour mood.

"It selectively probed our systems without damaging them or exposing itself."

I furrowed my brow, looking over at Zelenka, "Then how did you find it?"

He gave me an ashamed look, he was beating himself up over this, "Once the hive left Atlantis, the worm began to destroy all of the data they had sent down."

"Great…" I groaned.

"Then this was their plan all along," Teyla sighed in defeat.

"Never trust a damned Wraith." I said.

"What did they get?" Elizabeth asked Zelenka hesitantly, like she was afraid of the answer, hell, we all were.

Zelenka sighed heavily, "This is one of the reasons why we didn't detect it. They only uploaded two pieces of information; one—the Aurora mission reports."

Elizabeth didn't seem to think it was that bad, "Ok, and two?"

"The location of every world on our database."

"Oh fucks sake," I said in exasperation. Elizabeth shot me a scolding look. "Sorry, but you're all thinking it too." She didn't comment on it.

She turned to Zelenka, "Ok, Radek I want you to get rid of all the Wraith data if any was left over from the virus. Then destroy all the laptops that were used, we can't afford to miss any of it and risk it getting into the main system again, and then have Major Sumner help you with checking over the rest of the cities systems for anything else."

"Of course," Zelenka said with a brisk nod as he spun around and left the room.

"Doctor Weir!" Chuck appeared at the door, "The Daedalus is sending a transmission, apparently they've been attacked by the friendly wraith."

"Well I can't say that surprises me," Elizabeth muttered as Teyla and I followed her out into the control room.

Caldwell was on the screen when the three of us walked in; I stood a little bit behind Teyla and Elizabeth. From the background I could see sparks flying and injured people in the bridge.

"Colonel, what happened?" Elizabeth asked him. I noticed that Caldwell had a scratch on his cheek.

"As soon as we came out of hyperspace both Wraith hive ships attacked us," Caldwell said in resentment. "We tried to beam our warheads over but they managed to block our codes once again. Our shields were failing and Colonel Sheppard led out a fleet of 302's to try and take out their weapons system."

"Did Rodney and Ronon make it off the ship?" Elizabeth asked him.

Caldwell looked at us in remorse, "No. As far as I know they are still on the ship. We were almost done for when they flew off into hyperspace again."

"They left?" Elizabeth was a shocked as I was, and apparently it confused Caldwell too. That was until I realized it.

"They got the data." I said, all eyes turned on me; I saw the despair in Elizabeth's eyes. "Once the data had been transmitted to them from Atlantis they didn't need to stick around the jump site anymore. They could be heading to Earth right now."

"Whoa, what data?" Caldwell was obviously out of the loop.

"The Wraith planted a virus in our systems. They got information about the Aurora mission and every planet in our database, Earth included." I informed Caldwell. His face was utter shock and disgust. He had been against plotting with the Wraith from the beginning too.

"What's your status?" Elizabeth asked him.

Caldwell took a quick glanced around his bridge, "We're in need of repairs, but we're good to jump into hyperspace."

It suddenly dawned on me. Why wasn't John there? Why wasn't he telling us this? He should be there; he wouldn't miss a chance to talk to us about this. Before I could stop myself I was speaking, the dread heavy in my voice, "Where's Colonel Sheppard?"

The look in Caldwell's eyes was enough to confirm my suspicion, I could see grief on his face, "Colonel Sheppard was trying to disable the hive ships weapons system. There were darts and weapons firing into the air. When the Wraith jumped into hyperspace, our scans showed that his f302 weren't there anymore. He's gone."

I felt my whole world come crashing down around me. I felt like I had just been dropped into a vat of ice-cold water. My heart gave a painful lurch as the air left my lungs.

"I'm sorry." Caldwell said sincerely.

"No!" I said firmly, stepping closer to the screen. "He's not dead! His ship could have been damaged and he's just floating out there."

"We scanned the area, its just wreckage."

"Look again!" I cried. I felt Teyla place her hand on my arm to calm me down but I shook her off.

I expected Caldwell to berate me for my tone, but instead his expression remained sympathetic, "We have, Major. His ship must have taken a direct hit from the Wraith weapons, we know that the power of one of those hits came completely obliterate one of our fighters." I winced at the word 'obliterate'. I continued to stare down Caldwell while my heart broke; it was crumbling to pieces in my body, trickling down to the floor.

"I tried to get him to return to the ship, but he was adamant he could stop them, again I'm sorry. We'll be returning to Atlantis shortly."

"I understand, Colonel," Elizabeth said softly. I turned to her; I wanted to scream at her that she shouldn't understand! John was gone! How was I…how could I do this without him?

"Caldwell out."

The video died off.

And so did my feelings.

The three of us were silent for a long time; none of us knew what to say. It was a miracle that I was still standing, I realized then that Teyla had wrapped her arms around me and was holding me up, it was why I hadn't fallen over yet. I stared at the ground as suddenly all my memories appeared before my eyes. Memories of John and I together, laughing, playing, joking, kissing, touching, hugging, teasing. When he had rescued me from Ford. Our first meeting, our first kiss, everything. The tears started to come then, and I knew they wouldn't stop for a long time. I hadn't even said goodbye to him, the last time we had spoken, I had been in a mood about Michael.

…and the baby.

John didn't know, he would never know because he was gone, he was dead and he would never know that he would've been a father.

"Major…" Elizabeth called to me.

I met her gaze, and for a split second, I saw realization in her eyes, it was gone as I had pushed myself out of Teyla's hold and was running.

"Mia!" I heard Teyla call for me but I wasn't stopping. I needed to get away from this place, from everyone.

I ran through the corridors, my vision obscured from my tears as I let my feet guide me. _John's dead. He's dead. He left me. I'm all alone._ The tears flowed harder every time the thoughts cycled through my head.

I tripped. I fell to the ground, banging my knees hard but I didn't feel that pain, the only pain I felt was in my chest. I felt like I was going to burst any second now. I stayed on the ground, my knees tucked under me and my arms flat against the marble floor. My whole body was shaking, from grief, from sorrow and from my crying. Then I started screaming. I hit the floor, I cursed John. I cried horribly. I couldn't stop. I was screaming so hard my throat was going raw, I was probably sitting in a pool of my own tears from the amount that was coming out of my eyes.

I felt a gentle hand on my back. I shot up, _John?_ I thought desperately. I sobbed when Carson bent down to me. I could see tears in his own eyes as he gazed down at me.

"Oh, my love. I just heard." His tone was so gentle, so caring.

I lost it altogether, if I hadn't already. "Carson!" I sobbed, throwing my arms around him. I latched myself onto him, suddenly needing the comfort of another, someone to hug me and tell me comforting things. His held me tightly, like a brother would a sister, or a father to his daughter. I pressed my face into his white coat, sobbing my heart out as I continued to scream. I screamed for someone to bring John back. I thought that maybe if I screamed long and hard enough, whatever deity was out there would let him come back to me. He had to come back to me; I couldn't do this without him.

"I'm so sorry, Mia…" Carson whispered in my ear. I couldn't reply, I was still too busy pouring my heart out. "It's going to be alright." He continued to whisper. "It'll be ok, but for now, you can cry…" I heard Carson's voice crack. "You can cry for as long as you need too. I'm here for you."

His words, and hearing his own voice crack, made me cry harder, I let it all out. The pain, the sorrow, the regret, my love. I had loved John so fiercely, I wanted him to feel my love, he needed to, and I needed to.

"It'll be ok."

I tightened my grip around Carson, "No it won't." I whispered through my sobs.

 _It'll never be ok._

 **END OF CHAPTER 2**

* * *

 **Wow the difference in endings from season 1. Well my lovelies what a ride it has been for season 2. A total of 356 pages on word for this season alone, my fingers ache just thinking about it xD I know it was very very angsty and sad at the end there, but we all know what's going to happen, I don't plan on killing off our main character!**

 **And now to the bad news. I have decided to take a break from this story for a little while. You have obviously noticed that my time has been taken up by outside commitments and I myself have seen a decline in the quality that I have been writing. And let me remind you that I did write this whole season in under a year, I am exhausted! By focusing on this story completely I have neglected my other one for a whole year! I feel horrible with myself and I find myself wanted to continue that one for a little while. Do not worry. I would never abandon this story or you guys, all I'm saying is that I'm going to have a break from writing this one to get the creative juices flowing again, and for me personally getting into something else for a while helps me.**

 **Also on another note, this is the last chapter being posted here. We're already at 70 chapters and 400,000+ words here so I feel like to make everything easier I will be starting up season 3 in a new story. So if you aren't following me please do so so you will get the notification when I post because I won't be posting anything else in this one. Again thank you all and be prepared for season 3 as it's a wild ride!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Guest** \- oh my god what a reveal that would be if they had twins! All I can picture is John passing out...and probably Mia too xD

 **nhern1101** \- Thank you so much, Exodus is absolutely perfect. I'm using it for Season 3, thank you thank you thank you

 **GoldenGod48** \- what a theory, you'll have to see

 **Julka212** \- oh god i'm so happy you understand. I was so worried that people were going to hate on her so much for not telling him. I was trying to hard to explain her reasoning so that everyone would understand why she just can't yet. and because drama too xD I'm horrible...

 **Adela** \- thank you!

 **Again guys if you aren't already following me you won't get a notification about when I post the next story. This is that last chapter for this story so look out for Season 3: Exodus!**


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